


A better world with you

by OTPnygmobblepotOTP



Category: Gotham (TV)
Genre: Action/Adventure, Alternate Universe - Medieval, Anal Sex, Based on Dungeons and dragons, Blood and Gore, Dark Comedy, Dragons, F/F, F/M, Fluff and Angst, I'll let you guess who's top and who's bottom, Interspecies Relationship(s), Kissing, M/M, Minor Violence, No one is really good, Optional Smut, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Other World/ Isekai, Pining, Smut, The weirdest love triangle ever, Vampires, Werewolves, kinda mutual pining
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-08
Updated: 2019-08-22
Packaged: 2020-04-19 18:54:51
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 12
Words: 49,378
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19138669
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OTPnygmobblepotOTP/pseuds/OTPnygmobblepotOTP
Summary: Welcome to the kingdom of Gotham, a place where magic is real, kings still rule the land and dragons terrorize the cities, however Gotham is far from being like other fairy tales. Edward Nygma, once a simple forensic investigator in a world of only dullness and pain, finds himself in this new place along with his new ally, a black dragon named Oswald who he saved from certain doom. Now Ed wishes to restart even if that means no happily ever after.





	1. Oh dear...

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first time writing at this site so I hope it isn't too bad *shrugs* 
> 
> This is inspired by the likes of Kobayashi-san Chi no Maid Dragon and How to Train your Dragon along with some fantasy tropes but really it's its own thing with its own plot. I plan om writing a series but it depends on my mood mostly. Anyways, I hope you enjoy.

~~Chapter one~~

** Oh dear... **

**Edward**

He hadn't meant to. Sure, Edward Nygma had killed before but that time he was doing it for the greater good. No one would miss a moronic brute such as Tom Dougherty, and yet Kristen had freaked out when she found out. He was abusive, a monster, how could anyone love someone like that, Ed had thought but now he saw he wasn't all that different. Well, except for his far superior intellect and a complete lack of muscular build. Plus, Tom didn't wear glasses, however, they had both hurt Kristen. They were both monsters. Maybe Ed was even worst since he was the one who had just stopped his car in front of a park in the middle of the night with his girlfriend's corpse wrapped around a blanket in the trunk. This definitely wasn't how he had expected to spend his friday night but there he was.

 

As he pulled the body he couldn't help but shiver at the cold, merciless wind touching the bare spots of his skin. The night was dark. No stars nor the moon were in sight and the closest light source came from the nightclubs in the distance.

 

As the body fell on the dirt with a thud, Ed grabbed a flashlight. Once it was firm between his teeth and the shovel was safe inside his backpack with wirecutter and a few more tools that could be useful, he started the tiresome process of dragging the corpse to a deep spot in the woods to them burry it.

At eleven, no one would be in those woods except for high and horny teenagers and people wanting to be as discrete as the forensic scientist. Still, just in case things didn't go as expected he had brought a handgun and a pocket knife. He didn't want to kill anyone else, he just wanted to ne safe.

 _'Yeah, keep telling that to yourself,'_ Ed adjusted his glasses and took a deep breath to try to ignore the voice in his head.

After cutting through a fence and going so deep into the woods that all light besides his flashlight had disappeared into the horizon, the man started to dig. The trees were tall and almost as dark as the night itself. Most of the leaves covered the dirt since it was the middle of autumn, leaving twisted, naked branches on top that were closer to claws. The roots, many of which Edward was forced to dodge, disappeared into the ground only to reappear like snakes after a few meters. It was a creepy unsettling sight, not that the sounds were much better.

 

Edward was so focused on his labour that he didn't notice the hours go by. By the time he was finished, the man was covered on his own sweat, dirt and shame. The man panted and looked at the lump on the ground. It wasn't a professional's job but it wasn't slop either. He hated how proud he felt. "I-I'm sorry," the man stuttered through heavy panting. He removed his glasses and pinched the bridge of his nose, "I never wanted things to go this far, miss Kri- Kristen," he corrected himself and looked at the lump again with teary eyes, "I loved you, I truly, honestly did. Believe me, it was an accident. You are the last person in the world I-," Edward blinked as he was interrupted by a sound he didn't recognize. It almost sounded like the cry of an animal close to its final breath. He hated the fact that was the assumption he immediately jumped to. Along with the noise, came a smell, this time he recognized it very well. Fire. Not too far in the distance he could actually spot a purple light, which was curious since he didn't know what purple, of all colors, would be doing in the middle of a forest at one in the morning. Any sane person would have turned around and walked away but, if the murder of his girlfriend and love rival served of anything was that Edward Nygma was anything but sane.

 

The man pulled out his gun and slowly approached the light. His curiosity far surpassed his fear, if anything he couldn't let anyone know he had been there so. He had to make sure they weren't a threat nor that they had seen Ed.

 

As Edward walked closer to the source the notice the detroyed twigs that became broken branches which turned into entire trees mercilessly cut in half. The sight became more and more like a dream except for the growing ache in his joints which was proof this was reality. And then he stopped. 

 

Now, Edward could have imagined many things to be the cause of those rather surreal occurences so far, maybe an experiment or perhaps a few kids were pulling a prank. Maybe a movie was being shot there, hell, aliens would have been an easier explanation to digest but nope. The answer to that mystery was, of course a 60 feet long black dragon with a burnt wing, a greatsword stabbed through his chest warming himself with its own purple fire. Of course!

 

Surprise was replaced with confusion that, in turn turned into laughter. His wide, terrified eyes were soon shut together as he bent over and held his stomach.

 

The creature, which hadn't noticed Edward at that point turned to look at him with with wide blue eyes before growling, exposing large, sharp and bloodied teeth. That was probably the moment where any insane person would have ran away or, at the very least, stopped laughing, but not Edward apparently.

 

The dragon growled more loudly and its pupils became a slit as it took a deep breath before firing a fireball towards Ed. The man's laughter finally died out and was replaced with a "oh dear" before he jumped to the side, barely dodging the flames. He adjusted his glasses and looked back at where a tree had just been only to see a show of purple lights engulfing it instead. His jaw dropped as his heart beat reached his drums.

 

The dragon did something similar to a hack, which Edward immediately turned to see in case it was a new attack only to see the creature coughing red blood. "Stupid mortal," Edward heard the words but they didn't match the dragon's still jaw, "if I weren't dying you'd already be my dinner."

 

"Did you just talk straight into my brain?" Edward managed to gather enough energy to ask.

 

Oswald rolled his eyes, "no, no, it's a recording I keep around in case I meet morons. Of course I'm talking into your brain, you idiot!"

 

Edward tried not to look as offended as he felt. He was a lot of things but an idiot was definetely not one of them. "Wait, so, you're using telepathy, right? You're a dragon that can spit purple fireballs and use telepathy."

 

"Ding, ding, ding, we have a winner! Now turn around and let me die in peace, unless you're willing to and actually can help me which, as we both know, you aren't." 

 

Edward narrowed his eyes. Was this dragon sassing him in the worst night of his life? No, he didn't think so. The human pulled out his gun and pointed at the dragon before scoffing, "or I can just shoot you here and now. I mean, you're just a hallucination but I still refuse to get sassed tonight. Any other night? Maybe. Tonight? Fuck you."

 

The dragon scoffed. "What? You really think you can hit me with that little thing? Please, don't make me laugh," the creature swang its tail in a quick movement and sent the gun flying before it wrapped around Ed's waist, "oh goodness," was all that the man had time to say before he was forced face to face with the beast.

 

'You done screwed up now, Edward,' the pesky voice in his mind said as if he didn't already know that. The creature smiled, revealing its sharp teeth. They were bloody and Ed could swear he saw a few bones trapped between them.

 

"I guess I can have a last meal, it's not like any of us has anything better to do," the dragon said while opening his mouth. He moved closer.

 

At that point, Edward was terrified. The only weapon he had left was a knife that  be barely felt by something that big. All because he hadn't noticed the dragon had a tail until it was too late. Stupid Ed, all dragons have tails! Sure, he had never seen a real life dragon before but he had seen enough movies to know that. He wouldn't let his surroundings betray him again. Just as the mouth was closing around him, Edward noticed the blade impalling the dragon, "wait!" He shouted loudly enough to cause the beast to stop one second from finishing its meal. The man had his eyes closed and a stiff body.

 

"What?" The creature asked without moving a muscle.

 

"I can help you with the sword!" Ed said quickly, "I can pull it out of your back!"

 

"Right, you'll just make it go further-" Edward interrupted the monster.

 

"No! Look, I don't want to hurt you, ok? I'm just having a bad day, well night, in fact, the worst one. Please, I really don't want to die like this and I don't think you want either so, we can either help eachother out or both die!" Edward said frantically. For a moment he thought he was a goner but then he noticed the seconds becoming longer. The man gathered enough courage to open his eyes, he was still looking at the beasts throat but it became futher as he was pulled out.

 

The dragon looked at Ed. "You aren't going to run away."

 

"No. I promise." Edward tried to sound as assertive as he could but couldn't stop himself from gulping.

 

The beast took a deep breath, which the man felt due to how close he was before nodding, "fine. Don't try anything funny or your head will roll," it said before moving its tail to drop Ed on its back.

 

Now, at that point, Edward's mind was trying to think of a logical explanation to all of this. He was probably on top of a hill with his hands wrapped around a root which he was trying to pull from the ground. What he saw, however were black scales that shined when he aimed his flashlight towards them. Next to the scales were purple spikes as sharp as blades. The man wanted to touch them but focused on the sword, "I doubt you'll be able to do anything," the dragon scoffed, "that blade was blessed by God himself. Only few can even touch it without being stroke with his-"

 

With a little bit of a struggle, Edward managed to pull the sword with the other's back, "done," it was a lot lighter than he expected.

 

The dragon made a sound that could only be described as a roar and arched his back, "fuck-," as the blade was pulled, more blood began spilling out.

 

Edward grabbed a towel from his backpack and poured some alcohol in it to clean the wound, "I don't think I can bandage this-" he was interrupted by the dragon twisting its long neck enough to actually hit the wound with his fire. Startled by the magic, Edward fell off of its back. Seeing this, the dragon caught him midair with his tail.

 

The two exchanged a glance before the beast snorted, "be careful, would hate you to break your neck after all that."

 

"Oh, shut up." Edward grumbled and looked away as he was placed on the ground not so gently."

 

The black dragon looked at his new scar for a moment, "well, at least I won't bleed to death anymore. For your work, I won't kill you, mortal. You're free to go."

 

"Wow, thanks." Edward said sarcastically and sat up. He stared at his feet. Sure, he could go home, forget this ever happened and then what? Go back to his pitiful life? Wait until the police found him? Maybe he should have let the other eat him.

 

The beast probably noticed his self loathing since it decided to break the ice, "so, I hope you don't mind me asking but why is a human like you in a forest in the middle of the night? I don't know much about this world but your smell is the only human smell in this forest. Also, you smelled like sweat and dirt even before we even met."

 

Ed looked at the dragon. Its pupil was back to being round. He guessed it was a good thing. Should he say it? It wasn't like a hallucination could tell anyone and even if it could he doubt a dragon would be going to the police any time soon. "I killed someone and had to get rid of the body," he sighed and hugged himself, "you?"

 

The dragon snorted, "the holy guard and I fought and they sorta won by burning my wing, stabbing me and banishing me to a different realm," it spoke as if it was the most natural thing ever while Ed stared with disbelief, "so here I am. Who did you kill?"

 

It took a moment for Edward to find the words, "my, uh," he cleaned his throat, "my girlfriend. I know, I'm an awful person."

 

"I mean, it's common for dragons to kill their mates after the eggs are laid so that the strong parent can raise the child so, no judgement." The dragon moved its shoulder and Ed assumed he was shrugging, "besides, you much less awful than most people I am around most of the time." 

 

"But I loved her!" Edward argued, "and I still lost control and squeezed her neck until," he felt tears burning up as image came into view, "until she was no longer moving. I'm a monster."

 

"I killed and ate my step mother and my step sibling," Ed looked at the dragon with red eyes. It was looking back, "I don't regret it one bit, they were awful. Does that make me a monster?" The creature shrugged again, "maybe but I'm also known and respected by everyone back home. Well, was. Now that I was defeated I'm not so sure," he sighed, "regarless I'm pretty sure I did much worse things than you and I regret none of it. Keep your head high and face your enemies with a puffed chest after all you're-" he looked at Ed as if he was having  difficulty to read something.

 

Ed imagined that was his cue, "Edward. Nygma." He mumbled.

 

"Edward Nygma!" The beast practically shouted into his brain, "the human who saved the mighty Oswald Cobleppot, black dragon of the North, killer of the evil witch of the North and soon to be ruler of all of Gotham!" Ed couldn't help but smile a little, when he wasn't trying to kill him the dragon, Oswald, sure could be charismatic. He decided to take this time to also absorb the other's appearance. Oswald wasn't completely black, all his scales were but his spikes and soft regions were a bright purple. His eyes would go between green and blue, although that was probably the lighting, and he had two horns on top of his head that looked similar to a bull's, Ed thought. His body was slim and probably agile. He didn't have four legs, Edward noticed, but rather two and one of which didn't seem normal. The scientist had reas somewhere this type of dragon was called a wyvern but he thought it was best to say nothing. All and all, the dragon was, indeed, beautiful. He definitely had the regal appeareance his words manifested. "Say, are you thirsty?" Oswald said. It was odd how suddenly his tone had changed from threatening to friendly but Edward could definitely use a friend at that moment and he was guessing the dragon felt the same way.

 

"Uh, I guess I could use a drink if you have any?"

 

Oswald snorted and revealed a bottle of whiskey that he was hiding in a bush. "Let's just say you weren't the first human I found and I was a lot hungrier back then."

 

Edward stared at him for a moment before sighing and grabbing the bottle, "I don't think this will be a lot considering your-" a bright light surrounded Oswald and, where once laid a large monster now stood a a short man, a head shorter than Ed, with black hair, pale skin and no clothes whatsoever. Ed couldn't help but stare at his body, and then at the horns that were still present on his head and lastly at his tail. Why was this out of all things what surprised Ed the most?

 

Oswald still had his scars and, now Edward was certain, a bad leg. The naked man walked to Ed and took the bottle from him before taking a sip. "Wow, do you guys really call this alcohol?" This time Oswald was actually speaking.

 

"You're human?!" Edward practically shouted causing Oswald to roll his eyes, "and naked?!" That caused Oswald to chuckled.

 

"Just a little transformation magic, that form is a bit inconvenient at times," the human supposed that made sense. He was starting to grow used to the other form so this was definitely a change. "Now, let's drink."

 

**...**

**Oswald**

As Oswald expected, alcohol in this world didn't affect him at all which was a shame. In the other hand, the human seemed like he had never drunk a single drop in his entire life.

 

Now, originally when the dragon had chosen to spare him he had done it with the intention of following the man back home, stealing all that seemed valuable and keeping it low until he could find someone to bring him back home. Of course, that hadn't worked. The human was far too depressed over the death of his mate, so much so that Oswald was pretty sure he smelled like sadness. If his own experiences meant anything was that alcohol always helped. He intended on drinking by himself at first but even if the dirty man he had eaten earlier had a bottle he guessed this whiskey wasn't too hard find. All he needed to do was lift the human's spirit until he felt good enough to go home and he could carry on with his plan, and yet, that didn't work either. 

 

So now there he was, holding back this pathetic creature's hair as he vomited his bowls out. His wing was burnt nearly completely and he was afraid it would never heal to be what it was before, he was naked and cold since Edward had convinced him to put out the fire because he didn't want to burn the woods down or some stupid shit like that, his leg and stomach hurt like hell and he had to take care of this stupid hairless monkey.

 

Just as the man's glasses dropped from his face, Oswald caught with his tail while scrunching up at the disgusting sight. That was his life now. Once a king, loved and feared by all, now a babysitter. "Are you done yet?" He asked irritated.

 

"Yeah, yeah." Edward nodded and straightened his back to the best of his ability considering his state. He started to laugh.

 

Oswald rolled his eyes and seriously considered stealing his clothes. "Why are you laughing?"

 

"I don't know," Edward admitted through laughter, "I just laugh when I'm nervous." The man stumbled to the side and Oswald caught him, causing the man to laugh even harder.

 

Oswald sighed and gently set Edward down. He had lost any hope that he would be going hope so the smart thing to do would be to kill and even eat this man and look around for someone else. But he couldn't do it. This man had still saved his life, stealing from him was one thing but killing was a whole other story. He sat down next to Edward and leaned on his hands while looking up. He didn't like this world. Even the air smelled disgusting.

 

Edward leaned against Oswald's chest. "You're so warm." He mumbled and closed his eyes.

 

Oswald closed his eyes and tried to pull away but the man just chased the heat. "Yeah, I'm a dragon, plus it's cold out here and you're cold even for a human. Now please, get off."

 

"No!" The human whined and pushed his face more against Oswald's chest.

 

Oswald looked up and sighed. "How about this, give me your clothes and you can cuddle with me as much as  want." He said sarcastically.

 

Edward was silent for a moment before he nodded. "Yeah, ok." He stood up and began working on removing his brown coat. That pleasantly surprised Oswald until the man began taking off his pants.

 

Oswald's eyes shot wide and he threw his hands in front of his body. "Wait, just the coat is good!" He said more loudly than he would have liked.

 

Ed stopped and looked at him. Without his glasses his brown eyes looked much smaller. "If you say so." He shrugged and handed the man his coat.

 

As Oswald had suspected, the coat was practically a trenchcoat on his human form but he wasn't complaining. Well, besides for the smell of human sweat and dirt that is. 

 

Edward once again sat down and cuddled Oswald who slid his glasses back over his nose. "You look better with those," he watched as Edward adjusted the glasses and smirked just slightly, "I really didn't take you for the clingy drunk, human."

 

Ed scoffed, "I just killed the love of my life, I think I can be a little bit clingy," he pulled away a little and Oswald watched as he stared at the burnt tree, "what did you take me for?"

 

Oswald looked up and hummed, "when I first saw you I thought you would be the nervous and shy bookworm type. Then I saw you laugh and I thought you were dangerous. Then you pointed your weapon at me and I thought you were stupid," Edward rolled his eyes, "and brave." Edward looked at him with a smile and looked down.

 

"I'm pretty sure your first speculation is the closest to the truth. I'm really nothing special." Edward mumbled.

 

Oswald arched an eyebrow and looked at him. "Well, have you ever tried to be?" Edward looked at him with, what Oswald assumed, was a confused expression. He began explaining himself. "No one is born special, we become special with what we do with our lives. Sure, some people have it easier than others but with luck and perseverance you can get anywhere. For example, before I became the king the north was ruled by this woman, Fish Mooney. She was human. In my world humans aren't born with magic like us beasts, however they can learn it. Sure, the magic of a beast is more powerful but theirs is way more varied. They found a way to use magic to do pretty much anything," Oswald's tail swayed, "and that's what Fish did. She used her creativity to take control over the land and even defeated an angel with it," the dragon looked down and smiled, "she always used to say that the fact that humans were weak was their biggest strength. They had to adapt, to learn while the strong were blinded by their own strength and ego. She was an amazing woman," he looked at Ed, "and a dangerous one, which was why I had to kill her. My point is, Ed, you can also be special." He said and poked the man's chest.

 

Edward just watched and listened to him. Oswald couldn't read his expression at that moment. "Wow." The human finally said and looked down.

 

That made Oswald smile. "Yeah, she was wow."

 

"No, you are just very good with words. I just wow."

 

Oswald smiled more widely. "Why, thank you," he happily moved his body a little to a more comfortable position, "you can't rule a land with brute force after all."

 

Edward looked down. "I wish I was as confident as you," he sighed and hugged his knees. "My entire life I had people put me down, starting with my father. I never liked people, I never felt," he paused, "comfortable around people. I was always the weird nerd." He chuckled sadly and Oswald saw a few tears form behind his glasses. "And they were uncomfortable around me too. I think that's why they ignored me, and of course, there were the humors. A kid that plays with dead animals? Who the hell wants to be friends with THAT?!" Oswald could feel the anger building up in Edward's voice. "I was a freak. I AM a freak. I mean, I still play with dead people, hell, I KILLED two people! They were right. They were all right." Ed was laughing as tears rolled down.

 

Oswald felt uncomfortable, he could relate to that way more than he wanted to admit. Still, for some reason, he didn't want to leave the other crying like that. He hesitantly put an arm around Ed's shoulder causing the human to stiffen. He pulled Ed closer. "I went through something similar. See, I wasn't raised by a dragon. The woman who raised me, my mother, found my egg in a river. She lived alone and had never gotten married. She didn't have money, or property and yet she still raised me like her own son," he smiled a tender grin, "growing up I had to hide who I was since pretty much anyone would kill to have an actual dragon heart, even if it was from just a kid so everyone just thought I was this small weak skinny kid and I couldn't prove them wrong and then when I hurt my leg things got even worse. We couldn't buy potions to heal it and there wasn't a good healer in our village so, ya know," he shrugged, "it wasn't long after that until the nicknames came. Nicknames became threats and threats became agressions. There was a point I would come home bleeding everyday. My mother still needed my help, I couldn't just hide, you know? So, instead, I began to train. Eventually I met Mooney and showed her what I could do. She said she would teach me if I promised to serve her. I'm not a human and I'm pretty small and physically weak for a dragon, but I am pretty smart if I may say so myself. Everyone that hurt me, everyone that made fun of me, they all burned by my flames. Little weak Oswald was on top now." He kept his head high  with pride and noticed Ed staring, making him slouch a little, "but, uh, even in the worst days I had my mother there. She would sing to me, take care of me and assured me every day that I was worth it. Everything that they said were lies of sad men who were too weak to keep their own heads high," there was poison in his words, he was getting worked up so he took a deep breath. "Long story short, you just need someone to believe in you. And you know what?" 

 

Edward let out a weak and shy "what?"

 

"I believe in you, Edward Nygma." Oswald smiled and he felt warm upon seeing Edward smile too. He was pretty sure that was the first time he had seen the other truly smile. It was shy and small and could easily shatter but it was there.

 

"Thank you, Oswald. You have no idea how much that means to me." Edward mumbled and looked at his feet. Oswald did the same. They both stayed like that in silence for a couple minutes, "listen, I know you're probably going to try to go home and all but I'm guessing you don't have anywhere to go right now, do you?" He didn't let Oswald answer, "if you want to you could come stay with me for a while." He shrugged. "I have food, a hot shower, a comfortable bed. I'm not going to force you, but," Oswald chuckled at how nervous Ed was. 

 

"Yeah, I actually think i would like that a lot." Oswald nodded and began standing up before offering Ed a hand. "Shall we go then?"

 

**...**

  **Edward**

Edward woke up with a groan. His head was throbbing and spinning. He tried to open his eyes and immediately regretted it. Everything hurt. The man felt something warm and soft pressed against his front. He pressed it tightly and recognized the object as a body. That made his heart skip a beat and his eyes shot wide open. The light burned his eyes but that didn't matter, he was on bed with someone.

 

Ed looked down at the smaller man laying next to him. His back was turned towards Ed. His skin was pale, his feathery black hair was spread over the white pillow. He was sleeping peacefully, soft snores escaped his lips making Ed sigh. "What the hell am I going to do with you?"

 

 _'It's obvious isn't it , Ed?'_ Edward looked at a mirror only to see himself smiling at him,' _we have the chance to go somewhere new, somewhere exciting. Somewhere we can BE something! Oswald is our ticket there so_ ,' he appeared next to the dragon and ran a hand through his hair.

 

Edward sighed. The thought of using someone wasn't something he liked but it wasn't like he would be hurting Oswald in anyway. He would take care of him and then be repayed by going to a fantastical world. Nothing could go wrong, right?

 

The human looked at Oswald and noticed the scars in his body. His chest and back wete specially filled with them. He gently rubbed his thumb over the newest scar on his stomach. The dragon didn't even flinch. ' _What are you doing?'_ The other Edward asked.

 

"He is out cold. Look at him. He has a tail and horns. How did he become so small? Where did all that mass go?" Edward asked as he looked at the other with fascination. Now that his fear was gone and he had sobered up, his curiosity dominated him. That and a headache. He shook the dragon. "Oswald? Oswald!" He called and the man didn't react. "He won't be waking up for a while." He said and stood up.

 

The other Ed rolled his eyes, _'please, tell me you aren't doing what I think you are doing.'_

 

"I might be able to find a way to do what he does! Besides, it's just some blood." Edward quickly made his way to the bathroom and took a painkiller before opening his first aid kit. He pulled out a syringe, "and, well, maybe some saliva and a little more body fluids." He looked at the other Ed who had a judgemental look. "C'mon, it's not like I'm opening him up. I'll ask him for that first, I'm not insane you know." He scoffed at his hallucination before looking back at the dragon. He looked at his tail and ran a hand through the scales until he found a loose one and pulled it. That actually caused Oswald to groan but he remained asleep. Edward looked at the shiny black scale between his fingers. It was sharp like glass but refused to bend or break. Ed thought it looked a lot like sone jewel, not that he was an expert. The man laughed. "Shall we get to work?"

 

Edward proceeded to start his 'work', as he called it. He made sure to take all of Oswald's measurements, from his normal height to his height without the horns to how long his tail was to more mundane measurements. He took some of his blood and bodily fluids but was surprised to know the dragon apparently didn't excrete any substance, pleasantly surprised may he add. Not only that but the creature didn't sweat nor did it have any more hair in his body besides that on his head. As much as he would love to have studied his horns, whenever Ed touched them the man would stir and groan a little. They seemed like a sensitive spot. 

 

"I guess I wouldn't want to make him horny, huh?" He looked around with a smile at his own joke only to find out even his hallucination had left after that pun. He cleaned his throat and adjusted his glasses before going back to work.

 

It took one hour for him to collect all that he wanted, it took one day for him to get the results and a week for him to fully understand them and yet Oswald hadn't  woken up. Needless to say, he was worried.

 

Both Edwards observed him sleep with their thumbs pressed against the ceiling of his mouth. Ed had put on a robe on the short man so that at least he wasn't fully naked.

 

The real one adjusted his glasses causing the other to look at him and cross his arms. _'This can't be right. Have you checked his vital signs?'_

 

"Yes. Three times in the past hour. It hasn't changed at all. He is just sleeping." Ed sighed and watched Oswald. Truly, there was nothing wrong. He had even gone as far as to throw water on him or slap his face. "I need to go to work." He said and turned around to open his closet and grab his shirt, coat and pants.

 

' _You can't just ignore this!'_ The hallucination shouted as Edward slipped on his shirt. He only had a towel around his waist since he had just left the bathroom.

 

Ed buttoned up his while shirt and pulled his brown pants. "Look, it's cold. Maybe he's hibernating or something. Plus, I don't know how to wake him up. If you have a guess, I'm all ears!" He stated loudly and adjusted coat over his shirt.

 

The hallucination groaned. _'What did you find out?'_

 

Ed found out Oswald's tail was as big as his torso and head plus the horns. He also found out the dragon's teeth were sharper than a normal human's. He found out his scales could take a bullet from a regular gun and he would be completely fine and that the fire and ice he produced had nothing to do with any substance in his saliva. More importantly, his blood was identical to a human's but his body temperature was way higher. His DNA was closer to a hawk's than it was to most repitiles and was specially similar to human's. Those were the few things he had managed to discover, anything else made no sense. His 'magic' broke the laws of physics.

 

 _"_ Well, he is nothing like anything in our world. If I'm completely honest, he shouldn't even be alive. His body is way too different from a normal human. I-," he was interrupted by a knock on the door.

 

The two exchanged a look before Ed went to get it despite still being bare footed. He adjusted his glasses before opening the door. 

 

On the other side of the door was a stoic blond man wearing a shiny armor different from anything he had seen before. The armor was completely white glistened to the point where Ed wondered if it had been made of carbonated calcium, like pearls. What made his heart skip a beat, however, was the large golden cross on the man's chestplate. The knight removed his helmet and looked Ed in the eyes. "My name is James Gordon, captain of the royal guard. Is Oswald Cobblepot here?"


	2. Knights and dragons

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> That awkard moment where the guy you used to kinda have a crush to and who tried to kill you shows up at your new best friend's apartment after banning you to a different realm of reality and you gotta run away.
> 
> Also, Oswald and edward sorta adopt a cat.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I decided to take a break to write. I hope you enjoy, there is a little bit of action but it is mostly a dialog heavy chapter. In the next one we are going to Gotham. Maybe.

~~Chapter 2~~

** Knights and dragons **

  **Edward**

This was bad. This was very bad. It wasn't necessary an IQ of 200 to know that the man behind that door was one of the men who had fought Oswald and nearly killed him. The brown haired male was certain that it was nearly impossible for anyone to look more like a storybook hero than the man in front of him. Hell, Ed half expected the guy to start speaking like a knight who was looking for his lost princess.

 

Of course, he didn't. The two men stared at eachother for more than just a few awkward seconds too long. Jim Gordon watched the other with, what Ed could recognize, mildly confused brown eyes and a tense straight posture. He very clearly didn't want to be here either.

 

Eventually, Jim broke the awkward silence by cleaning his throat. "Can I talk to Oswald Cobblepot? Short guy, black hair, has a limp and mommy issues? Might have horns and a tail? I know he is in there."

 

Somehow Ed's eyes went wide and, instead of replying, he did the first thing that came to mind and slammed the door on the man's face. Sure, he could try to talk to this guy and try to convince him Oswald wasn't there but he knew an assertive tone when he heard it and that man knew he was there. This was bad. 

 

Edward quickly turned around with his back pressed against the door and looked at Oswald. He could feel the vibration caused by the knocks and that only made him panic more.

 

"C'mon, stop being stupid! I just want to talk!" Edward knew that if this guy could defeat a dragon a door was definitely not stopping him but he locked it anyways, even if the slamming against the door was nearly enough to bring it down. He wondered if all humans had super strength in this other world.

 

Quickly, Edward took a few calculated steps to stand next to Oswald, "C'mon, wake up!" He hissed loudly and slapped the shorter man across the face twice as a bead of sweat rolled down his forehead.

 

 _'He isn't going to wake up, Ed.'_ Other Ed so kindly stated the obvious as the real one violently shook Oswald in a desperate attempt to wake him. ' _You will just hurt him.'_

"Well, I'm not seeing you doing anything to help!" Edward shouted irritated and stared at his ghost with gritted teeth.

 

_'We need to get him out of here.'_

"Ah, yes, and that will be super easy! It is not like I live in the fifth floor in a very busy street and it's the middle of the day, is it?" He scoffed and rolled his eyes, 

 

_'We need help.'_

"And what? Am I supposed to expect that someone will appear right here," he pointed to his left with both of his hands for emphasis, "and just help us take this half naked man through the window safely without asking any questions?!"

 

The ghost looked at where Ed was pointing with a passive and yet condescending expression and crossed arms.

 

Edward stared at him for a moment before finally looking at where he was pointing. Much for his surprise, a curly haired teenager with an amused smirk stood. She wore a black leather jacket on top of a black sleeveless shirt, black leggings and laced black shoes. " 'Sup Nygma?"

 

The sight made Ed scream and jump to the side. "Ah! Where the hell did you come from?! Are you trying to give me a heart attack?!" He asked quickly and loudly in a high pitched voice.

The girl shrugged. "Your window is open," She pointed at the window behind her and shrugged with a slightly interested smirk, "plus, it's Wednesday. It's your day to feed me." She stated and walked to his kitchen. Ed followed and watched as she took one of his apples and bit it down.

 

That was correct. Selina Kyle was, for the lack of better term, the mascot of the block. She was an orphan that had lived in there for her entire life and knew the streets of Detroit better than any adult Ed knew. The problem was, once you asked for her help and actually paid she would become your problem much like a stray cat. Normally she would invade Ed's apartment to steal food and leave unless the man needed something else which would require actual payment, of course and since she was still a kid most people, including him, didn't have the guts to call the police on her. She had been of great, specially when Ed said he needed a place to hide a body. She even offered to hide it for him, which he obviously refused.

 

Selina left the kitchen and looked at Oswald while taking a big bite of her apple. "So," she said with a mouthful and leaned against the wall next to the window, "I'm guessing sleeping beauty hasn't woken up yet," she looked at the door as the knocking grew more violent, "and I'm guessing that isn't your landlord."

 

Edward followed after her quickly. "No and he will kill him if he finds him! You gotta help me, please!"

 

Selina considered it for a moment with a hum. "Sure. Two hundred bucks."

 

Edward's eyes stared with her with disbelief. That was a steal and they both knew it but Ed was desperate. With a curse, he pulled out his wallet and handed her an one hundred bill. "I will pay the rest once we are BOTH safe and far from here."

 

Selina smiled as she took it and slid the bill into her pocket. She looked at Ed with an overly sweet smile and took a step closer to him. "I'm glad to help, Edward Nygma." The girl said longly as she pulled a hidden belt from her waist and put it around the man's. "It is always great to make a deal with you," she attached a hook to the belt, "sucker." Before Ed could reply, Selina shoved him out of the window with a mischievous grin. The man screamed and kicked as gravity pulled him down.

 

**...**

  **Selina**

Edward Nygma was a strange man. Not as in dangerous strange but as in Selina would have expected him to still live with his mom rather than in a flat in Detroit all alone while he worked for the DPD. Even more strange was that this guy had managed to kill a cop twice his side with just a switchblade. Yes, she wasn't one to judge specially since most made the mistake to underestimate her but he was different. It wasn't just his appearance, he would tell people riddles in the regular and annoy the shit out of them. He had no idea what social skills were besides what it was said in a dictionary and couldn't even have a conversation with another person while maintaining eye contact. In all honesty, he was a mystery. It couldn't all be just an act, not even the actor could keep up a façade this good and now, to add to Ed's list of oddities he had a man who was way too into fantasy shit in a coma on his bed and some dude about to put his door down. 

 

And now it was Selina's job to get him out. This definitely wasn't Selina's definition of an enjoyable Wednesday but she was one for adapting. Quickly, the teenager made her way next to Oswald. She slapped his face a few times to try and wake him up, "c'mon!" The girl demanded for no avail. She grunted and ran a hand through her hair in annoyance, great, she would have to carry him. "Fuck! Fine!" She complained and rolled her eyes. At least he didn't seem heavy, "but you are not wearing those." The brunette said just before she attempted to pull his horns which proved to be way too firmly attached to his head for it to be healthy. She closed her eyes and added more strength not noticing the growling until the man sat up quick enough to make Selina jump back, startled. Her eyes were wide and her jaw had dropped as she stared into his. They were blue with a slit dividing them. The girl knew that, in cat language, that meant he was far from happy and the purple light that quickly escaped his mouth through gritted teeth was just further proof.

 

"Oh, shit!" Selina shouted and ducked just in time as a purple fire ball flew above her head. She followed it with her eyes and cursed again as she saw the apartment start to catch on fire.

 

"Ok, that's it! I'm tired of playing games, Oswald!" The man behind the door shouted.

 

The thing that had just attacked her, she was guessing his name was Oswald, cursed as well before standing up revealing a tail behind his back. Selina watched in awe as a pair of wings ripped through his clothes, although she did notice one was smaller, and it- he? jumped down from the bed. Just as Oswald hit the floor the door came down and a man in an actual shining armor came in. Selina was too confused to move.

 

"Oswald!" The knight shouted as he looked at the creature.

 

Oswald smiled pointy teeth. "I am so sorry, old friend, but I have to make our meeting short. There is a fire going on," he put an arm around the girl's waist and looked up before shrugging, "plus, I really don't wish to talk to you." He turned around and quickly dragged Selina to the window before jumping.

 

Selina screamed. Her position caused her to looked down despite not wanting to and while she normally wasn't afraid of heights, that didn't seem to apply to when she was being carried by her waist by a monster that had just tried to kill her while it flew away.

 

"Oswald!" Edward shouted and the creature grabbed the rope keeping him from falling to his death and dragged him along as they went higher.

 

Edward seemed to have a similar point of view as Selina since he screamed and kicked even more than her.

 

"Will you two stop or else, I swear to my mother's grave I'm dropping BOTH of you to your deaths!" The creature growled and through a few tears that had formed and she refused to let fall, she sucked up her screams and closed eyes. It didn't help but she pretended that it did.

 

A few minutes later, Oswald landed on a rooftop less than graciously. He stumbled forward and rolled for a moment before finally coming to a stop, causing him to get trapped in Ed's rope and his own wings. "Get me out of here!" He demandedand squirmed.

 

Selina panted and shook like a leaf while she tried to process what the hell was going on. "W-we just flew! He just just flew! And he spit fire!"

 

"Wait, he what?!" Edward seemed to recover from the shock much faster than Selina as he stood up and walked to the creature with anger instead of fear. "Oswald, did you just set my house on fire?!" That was the first time she ever saw him shout like that for the two years she had known Nygma.

 

"It wasn't my fault! That brat touched my fucking horns! They are a sensitive spot, also, you never said anything about having kids!" Oswald spitted back as Nygma tried to free him.

 

"She is not," Edward glanced at her and shook his head before looking back at Oswald, "doesn't matter, you were in a coma for two weeks! And then that guy just showed up in my house and I panicked, ok?!" Ed's voice grew weaker as he spoke. "Selina was supposed to help me save you."

 

As Oswald was freed, he sat up and his wings disappeared, leaving two large holes in the back of his grey robes. He stared at Ed and Selina noticed his eyes were now much more human like despite him having an unhappy frown. "Fine," he took a deep breath and looked down, "whatever."

 

Edward sighed and adjusted his glasses before looking at the creature. "Can you tell me what happened? Why were you out for so long?"

 

It was Oswald's time to sigh. "That's how we heal if there are no potions or healing items available, granted I didn't think I would go into hibernation as soon as I fell asleep. My injures musthave been worst than I realized." He ran a hand through his hair. 

 

Edward nodded and looked at his feet before chuckling nervously. "You really scared me back there." 

 

Watching the two interact really helped her calm down. Whatever this thing was, it didn't seem so dangerous now, in fact she couldn't help but feel like he was very similar to Nygma in a weird way. Selina stood up. "Alright, losers, which one of you can tell me what the hell is going on?" She crossed her arms and began tapping her feet irritated.

 

The two males exchanged a look before Edward decided to speak up. He told her about Kristen giving emphasis to the fact it was an accident and how he met Oswald. He spoke of how they tried to kill eachother before they settled to helping eachother which led to the two getting drunk together. He also said that he had offered for the dragon to stay with him until he found a way to go home. Throughout the explanation all Oswald did was nod acknowledgingly. 

 

As he was done Selina, who was had been paying attention to Nygma's words for once, spoke up. "So, he is a dragon from another world where magic is real and there are princesses and knights and all that crap?"

 

"Yeah, pretty much." Edward nodded. Oswald just looked at him as he spoke.

 

"And that guy is a holy knight or guard or whatever and he is here to kill him?"

 

Oswald looked at her. "It wouldn't be the first time." He said and rubbed his bad leg, something she had noticed while being carried away.

 

"And how the hell are you gonna go back?" The girl asked with an arched eyebrow.

 

Oswald paused for a moment. "I don't know," he mumbled causing the girl to scoff and for Ed to look at him, "yet. But I will. Soon. It is not the first time I have been banned to another plane, granted this is the first one where magic doesn't appear to be real or, at the very least, practiced."

 

The girl was about to reply when she was interrupted by the dragon's stomach. They all looked at it in unison causing Oswald to clean his throat, embarassed. "We should leave the questions for later. We need a new base since the previous one got damaged during our battle and I think we could all do with a meal."

 

"Definetely, but you aren't going anywhere like that. You'd stick out like a sore thumb." Selina pointed all over Oswald.

 

He furrowed his eyebrows. "What is wrong with my appeareance?"

 

Edward intervened, "I think what she is trying to say is that a tail and horns isn't a very conventional look. Also, the robes you are wearing are, perhaps, too casual."

 

"Oh." Oswald looked down at his tail and it disappeared into a flash of light. "The horns stay," he mumbled, "they are a dragon's pride and hiding them is considered shameful."

 

Selina rolled her eyes, "of course, well, what about the clothes?"

 

"Actually," Edward spoke up, "I was wondering if you couldn't, perhaps, help us with that. Maybe steal them?"

 

Selina stared at him for a few moments which clearly made the tallest man look nervous. That oddly calmed her. "Fine," she shrugged, "but you will have to bring me to your world with you."

 

Oswald laughed and was very clearly about to retort when Ed covered his mouth with his hand. "Of course. We will bring you along." The dragon stared at Edward who didn't look back until he quickly pulled his hand away and looked at the palm, "what the?! Did you just nibble my hand?!" 

 

"Yes, and put it near my mouth again and I will do it again, human." Oswald said and looked away.

 

Edward looked at him and gasped theatrically. "How dare! I have been taking of you for over a week and THIS is how you repay me?" There was a smirk in both of their lips.

 

"Well, perhaps you shouldn't have let me starve. Now I might end up taking a bite of whatever I see." Oswald said with a snarky grin.

 

Selina rolled her eyes even if she was smiling slightly herself. She decided to leave the two to bicker like an old couple while she went off to get them clothes and food.

  **...**

  **Edward**

Edward couldn't help but smile a bit as he watched Oswald eat fried wings.

Selina had managed to get the dragon some clothes that more or less fit, more specifically a black hoodie, a pair of snickers, raggedy jeans and a beanie. As Selina explained, it would be easier to explain the horns if they looked like they were part of the headwear they still sticked out but at least people wouldn't just stare. Oswald complained about how they smelled like human trash but complied to wear it after enough persuasion from Ed's part. Selina had also been kind enough to buy a bucket of fried wings for them, of course, Edward would have to pay double later.

 

"You know," Oswald said after swallowing, "when I first came to this world I thought it was all rubbish but your beds and food are definetely superior." He licked the grease off of his face before throwing the leftover bone away and sucking his fingers.

 

Edward couldn't contain a snarky reply. "I am glad it seems to fit your taste, your highness."

 

"I didn't like it at first but the more you eat the better it gets." Oswald admitted with a shrug as he grabbed another wing from the bucket. Selina had been too focused on her own wing to really seem to care about their conversation.

 

Edward observed her with thoughtful eyes. Something came to his mind.

 

 "What?" She asked with a mouthful and shot the taller man a glare.

 

Edward shrugged. "Oh, nothing. I was just thinking how that guard could have found Oswald, I mean, there aren't all that many people who knows about his existence."

 

"Someone might have seen me through a window!" Oswald guessed while pointing the half eaten food at Edward. "Oh, but they will see! Once I find out whoever did this I will destroy them! I will kill their families in front of them then rip off their eyes, make them eat them, burn them alive and just as they are about to let out their last breath, rip off their heart and eat it." Oswald smiled a wicked grin as he described the gory scene.

 

Edward didn't pay much attention. He was focused on Selina who, as he expected, looked considerably more pale and distressed.

 

For someone who didn't know her well this would be practically  impossible to notice but she would keep her head low and gently tap her fingers when she was nervous and he knew very well it wasn't bevause of the door. It had been her. He would have to talk to the girl alone just in case Oswald intended to go through with his threat. "We might never know. Anyways, my car isn't too far from here. We can take it and drive to some motel before we decide what to do."

 

"I am not sure what that means." Oswald tilted his head at Edward with confused eyes that Edward found remarkably similar to a curious dog.

 

He proceeded to explain what a car and a motel were to the dragon who managed to absorb the information rather easily. Ed convinced himself it was all because he was a great teacher majorly, partly because Oswald appeared to be quite intelligent and partly because they were fairly simple concepts. "So, Oswald, do you think you can bring us down the same way you brought us up?"

 

Oswald seemed to hesitate and stare at his leg for a moment before taking a deep breath and nodding. "Yeah. I can. Just, help me stand, will you?"

 

Edward nodded and stood up before assisting the other. The blue eyed creature removed his hoodie before his wings appeared. He kept his bad leg above the ground. "They still haven't fully healed," that was obvious considering the size difference, "but I can fly us small distance." Oswald squeezed Ed's waist and looked at Selina. "What are you waiting for? Do you want to be left behind or do you expect me to limp over there." The girl rolled her eyes and grabbed the bucket before walking over. Oswald rolled his eyes as well. "Kids," he muttered and locked her safely with his arm before taking off.

 

Flying was definetely something that caught a lot of attention, but again, there wasn't much those people could do other than watch in awe and disbelief.

 

Edward guided their ride to the car before they landed rather violently causing a few scratches on Edward. At least his glasses seemed to be fine. Once the initial shock was gone, he looked at Oswald who was laying down and panting in pain with his eyes closed. He held his chest. "Hey, are you ok?" The human asked worried. "Y-yeah."

 

Oswald groaned and winced as he managed to sit up. He also had a few new scratches. "But I think I won't be able to fly for a while." He said disappointed and looked down. He retrieved his wings. Edward offered him a smile. "Hey, it's ok. Let me give you a ride instea-," he was interrupted by a movement in the corner of his eyes. He turned to see Selina taking the driver's seat. "Hey!" She looked at them.

 

"What? I'll drive." The girl spoke as if it was normal to let a fourteen years old drive a car, although, to be fair, nothing in their situation was normal. "No, back seat. Now." Oswald said authoritatively causing the girl to groan and mumble complains but obey. She threw his keys at the man. "How the hell did you get them?"

 

"I stole them while we were flying." The girl laid down to the best of her abilities in the small space of a red Volkswagen. "You really should start paying more attention, Nygma."

 

Edward rolled his eyes and helped Oswald to the passenger's seat before taking the driver's. He looked at the dragon. "It's ok if you want to take a nap. I will wake you once we get there." He said gently. Oswald semed to hesitate for a moment before taking a deep breath and nodding. He leaned against the glass as much as his horns allowed and closed his eyes. Edward began to drive.

 

Selina watched Oswald. "Is he ok? He doesn't seem too well." She said.

 

Edward waited for a moment before replying. "I could run some tests later but I think he is fine, physically at least. He is just going through a lot." He gently shook Oswald who didn't budge. The man nodded slightly before looking back at Selina. "It was you. You ratted us out." The girl's eyes went wide and she opened her mouth as if she was about to argue but Edward interrupted her. "Save it, I won't tell him but I want to make something clear, Selina, if it comes down to saving you or him I am saving him in a heartbeat. We have known eachother for a while but I know we aren't friends, hell, I am pretty confident you don't even like me but this guy is my ticket out of this miserable life I was forced into. I have nothing left in here. Not a friend, not love, just pain but I finally have a chance to start a new in a place where I could actually become the person I was always supposed to be and I am not letting you or anyone else get in the way, am I clear?" Selina stared at him through the mirror through long, painful seconds.

 

She was silent and he could few the judgement crawling on his skin.

 

"Selina!" He said loudly to force a reply out of her.

 

She broke the stare to look out of the window, crossed her arms and leaned more against the seat. "Yeah, whatever."

 

"Good." Edward continued to drive. He thought the heavy silence that followed was an indicator that they had dropped the subject but apparently he was wrong.

 

"So you are just using him." Selina broke the silence without looking at Ed.

 

Edward sighed. "Yes, and he's probably just using me. It's called partnership, kid. Sorry if people don't help others from the goodness of their heart in the real world."

 

"I know that!" Selina shouted rather aggressively and stared at Nygma for a moment before taking a deep breath and looking away. "I know that better than anyone, but he isn't the type of guy you can just use and throw away, Nygma. He is dangerous and can definetely kill you before you even realize it," Edward remained silent so she continued, "I don't know what you think he is but he isn't some dog that will lead you to a secret treasure, he's a monster and, if he really is using you back I would consider finding out what for otherwise you will be discarded and all your dreams will go downhill."

 

Edward hummed and thought about it for a second. As much as he hated to admit it, she was right. It was pretty obvious Oswald was using him to gain knowledge about this world and to stay comfortably hidden but if that was all there was to it he really had no reason to bring Ed along him to his world. He looked at Oswald with calculating brown eyes. "Then I will kill him." He was surprised by the words that came out of his mouth. The man looked back at the road. "If Oswald doesn't bring me along I have no reason to keep him alive."

 

Selina scoffed. "And can you do that?"

 

Theoretically, yes. Edward had spent the past week and a half studying Oswald for a week. He knew a lot about the other's body now and where the best spots to attack would be. But could he do it? Could he actually kill Oswald? He knew by now Oswald wasn't a good man but he didn't think he wasn't a bad man either. A bad man would have killed Edward as soon as they got into his flat. A bad man wouldn't have held his hair while the threw up nor would have let Ed cuddle to him for heat. Sure, he could have been just using Ed but he really didn't have to and he definetely didn't have to cheer him up, and yet he did. Could he kill Oswald Cobblepot? Was he that cruel? Ed just hoped he wouldn't have to ever answer that. He finally replied. "Which part of a road do Ghost's love to travel the most?"

 

Selina rolled her eyes. "A riddle? Seriously?" Edward looked down slightly ashamed. "Way to kill the mood."

 

"The answer is dead end. Whether I can kill Oswald or not doesn't matter, I would still be stuck here and we gotta find a way to get out in the first place. I have to find something to make him bring me with him."

 

"Us. Bring us. I don't want to stay in here either."

 

"Right." Edward nodded and stopped the car in front of the hotel. "Can you get us a room? I will wake Oswald up."

 

Selina nodded with little interest before going out.

 

Edward watched Oswald sleep peacefully. Under this particular light his eyelashes became even more prominent than they were normally and his freckles became more visible. He gently touched the man's horns causing him to groan. He pulled them a little and Oswald immediately jumped awake and looked at Ed with slit eyes but they almost immediately went to normal. "We're here." Edward said simply.

 

Oswald nodded as he yawned before stretching causing his vertabraes to pop.

 

"You really shouldn't do that. It's bad for you." Edward said softly and the dragon rolled his eyes.

 

"Whatever you say, doctor." He said sarcastically. "Can you help me?"

 

Edward nodded. "Of course." He quickly made his way out and opened Oswald's door before pulling him out. The shorter one grunted and hissed in pain but managed to stand up. "Shit." He yelped.

 

"Just lean against me." The taller recommended and Oswald obeyed. Selina was waiting for them inside with a key. 

 

"I managed to get a room in the first floor but you won't like it." Selina said as she played with the keys.

 

Edward rolled his eyes. "Just lead the way."

 

She shrugged and ran off until stopping in front of the door with the number thirteen writen on a small plaque. Selina opened the door. 

 

The room wasn't anything fancy. It had a dresser, two closets, and a full bed thay was considerably smaller than Ed's. Oswald didn't seem to care as he threw himself onto the bed and sighed. "Yep, this is paradise." 

 

Edward smiled slightly as Selina walked to the bathroom attached to the bed. She looked at the two of them. "It doesn't seem too disgusting." She shrugged. Somehow that wasn't very comforting.

 

The dragon took off all of his clothes before crawling under the sheets. "Don't wake me up until I am done healing." He requested with his eyes already closed. 

 

Edward took a deep breath but offered an smile the other couldn't see. "Of course."

 

Selina walked to the door. "Anyways, I will leave you two rest." Edward looked her with confusiom which she clarified before he could ask. "It's pretty clear that you aren't going anytime soon. Don't worry, you aren't getting rid of me so easily, I will be back tomorrow and you better be here." She said abd opened the door before leaving before Edward could say something.

 

The human sighed and let himself fall next to Oswald in that uncomfortably soft and small bed. He didn't even realize how tired he was until his eyes closed and proved impossible to open again.

 

**...**

**Edward**  

Three days passed without anything significant happening. Oswald slept through all of them and Edward did his best to take care of him, he wanted to prove to be useful. Selina would come and go as she pleased, leaving Ed alone with his hallucination most of the time. The man knew Oswald would be hungry when he woke up since the last time he had eaten an XL bucket of wings practically on his own and had kept healthier but tasty meals in their room just to be safe. He really didn't want to screw it up. A part of him even wondered if he should sleep on the floor to give Oswald as much space and comfort as he could, in fact that was exactly what he was arguing with himself when the dragon woke up.

 

"Look, we have to do this perfectly. I have nothing else, nothing left here and I know it's stupid but-" Edward turned as he heard some stirring and a yawn. He approached the man quickly. "Hey, how are you feeling?" He got on one knee next to him.

 

Oswald looked at him. "Were you speaking to someone?" He rubbed his eyes. 

 

"Oh, uh, no. I just talk to myself sometimes." Edward forced a smile.

 

The dragon looked at him. "Oh. Ok. Well, uh, yeah. I slept well and I don't think my wounds will heal anymore without the assistance of magic so." He shrugged.

 

Edward let out a small 'oh' and stared at his feet for a moment. "Oh, right! You must be hungry!" He ran towards a table he had managed to sneak in.  "I brought you roasted chicken since you seemed to enjoy it before along with some mashed potatoes." He began cutting a piece of breast, "anyways, I think you're going to like it. If you don't, it's fine. I'll just quickly run to the restaurant on the other side of the street and, ouch!" Through his speech and over 48 hours with no sleep, Edward was really not in his best condition and the knife that had just slit his thumb seemed to agree. He brought it to his mouth.

 

Oswald's eyes shout wide and he jumped out of bed before limping towards Ed. "Human, what in the name of your god are you doing?" He glared reprehensibly at the man's eyes.

 

Suddenly Edward felt small and the words escaped him. "Well, you see, I, uh," he refused to look Oswald in the eyes and nervously pressed the injure far too tightly.

 

Oswald sighed and looked up at him. "Ed, you are acting strange. You are more nervous than usual and I can tell you haven't slept. Tell me what is going on." It wasn't a request.

 

Edward hesitated. He should probably lie, right? It was what he would always do when he was in a situation like this after all.

 

' _And where did that bring you?'_ Edward wince, _'to a forest with your dead girlfriend where you nearly died. If you lie you will just screw this up too. For once in your life, be assertive Edward Nygma!'_

 

He really hated when his hallucination was right. It was probably best to just ask Oswald what he wanted him to do in exchange to going to the other universe with him. "Ok, look," he took a deep breath, "my entire life I have been nothing but an awkward nobody. People either ignore me or just push me aside but after hearing what you said about your world I realized, it doesn't have to be like that," the man the dragon's hands and squeezed them. That caused Oswald to look down at them. Edward got on his knees."I could start again, I could BE someone and you could maybe teach me! Hell, I could be your employee, anything just please, Oswald, take me with you!" 

 

Oswald pulled away, "stop it at once, Edward! It is embarrassing. You should never beg, specially for something like a ride." He demanded clearly weirded out and licked the human's blood off of his hand. The black haired male finally looked at the other. "If you truly wish to come along I have no reason not agree, specially since you have helped and cared for me so much, however, I think you may be mistaking things. My world is no fairy tale. It will eat you alive unless you can adapt to it and fight, specially if you get on your knees and beg." He scoffed. "If once we are there you decide to work for me that is a completely different story, but again I do require assistance to retake what is mine so, as long as you don't die right away I should take you in."

 

Edward looked up at him with a smile which turned into a laugh. "Thank goodness, oh, thank you, Oswald! You have no idea how happy that makes me!" Oswald pulled him up through the forearm.

 

The shorter male squinted. "I think I can take a good guess." He grabbed the cut piece of meat and stuffed it into his mouth. "In another news, I think I have a way for us to go back home."

 

Edward blinked as he started to relax anf looked at him with curiosity before adjusting  glasses. "How?"

 

Oswald smiled a child like grin that was filled with mischief. "We must find Jim Gordon."

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Selina is surprisingly fun to write, although, to be fair, they are all fun to write specially my boy Osmaug Cobblepot. Sorry, had to. I really love writing this fic though.
> 
> Also, poor Jim. He's definitely going to write about this in his diary.


	3. Black gate

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which we finally go to a new world and decide to go fishing.

~~Chapter 3~~

**Black Gate**

**Edward**  

Edward didn't like Oswald's plan and he could tell Selina didn't like it either. He stood in the middle of the forest with the sword in his hands while they waited. Oswald had made him go back to grab in case things got out of hand, like someone like Ed would be able to use something like that. The man leaned against a tree and stared at the silver blade. He couldn't read whatever was written there.

 

"This is a bad idea." Selina said softly as she looked at the grass underneath her. She was sitting with her legs crossed. 

 

"Trust him." Edward said despite the fact he doubted the affectiveness of the plan himself. 

 

It was simple, really. Selina had spread the information that Oswald would be in the park on a Tuesday at 12 am, that way no one would see them nor get hurt. Next, it was up to Oswald. He guessed Jim had a way to go home since he was there for him and probably didn't intend on staying. All he had to do was defeat Jim and steal his means to go back home. In a closed space, the dragon had a disadvantage since he wasn't very mobile, specially ob the ground but if he could fly he could fight. So now they just had to wait.

 

Selina was still a bit startled by Oswald's true form but her past few days hadn't been exactly normal either so she was growing used to it to say the least.

 

It was an hour past midnight and no signs of the knight. He looked at Oswald who seemed as bored and impatient as they were. He had started a fire that would surely attract the other man. It wasn't anything big but the dragon assured him that Jim would be able to feel his magic. "I can't believe he left me hanging." The creature spoke into Edward's mind. He sounded disappointed. 

 

"I'm sorry," Edward said softly as he looked into his sad blue eyes. "I mean, this is a good thing. That means he isn't that interested in," Ed was interrupted by some rustling behind them. They all turned to look only to see the same man in shining armor from before.

 

Oswald smiled widely with teeth closer to that of a snake while his pupil changed. "Jim Gordon, so you finally came to die," he hissed and approached the man slowly, like a cat hunting. He circled the man.

 

Jim looked at him with a stone cold expression. "I am not here to fight, Oswald." He said arbitrarily.

 

"Too bad!" Oswald opened his mouth and shot a fireball at the knight.

 

Jim rolled out of the way and pointed at the dragon causing roots to grow from under the beast and wrap around his ankles. Oswald froze them before breaking free and swinging his tail at the human. This time, he didn't manage to escape and got the air in his lungs stolen away. He was thrown against a tree which broke at the impact.

 

Edward winced at that. "That will definetely leave a mark."

 

Oswald jumped up high in the sky before turning to look at Jim who somehow managed to collect himself. The dragon opened his mouth and a frost breath fell upon the earth towards Jim. Even Ed who was a good one hundred feet away felt cold from the blast.

 

Light sprout from from the ground in front of Jim in the shape of a wall that protected him from the frost breath. At least mostly. Some parts of his hair and armor gained a crust of ice. It was hard to see the man behind the blinding light that illuminated the whole area. As it dissipated,  the knight was no longer there. Oswald's eyes went wide and he looked around frantically to try to find Jim. He did it too late as strings of lightning left the man's fingers and stroke the dragon's horns with enough intensity to make him roar and fall on his back.

 

Oswald was still which was extremely worrisome. Gordon began slowly walking towards him while holding on to his stomach. His forehead was bleeding quite a bit and he was far from being in good condition but he could still move. Oswald wasn't.

 

Edward quickly ran to stand between the man and the beast praying for him not to fall. He panted before lifting the blade in a protective stance. "I won't let you get to him," he growled and hoped his voice didn't come out as shaky as his hands.

 

Jim didn't seem phased by it at all as he pulled out his own sword. "That's not how you hold a blade, boy." He said before hitting his stomach with the hilt. The attack was powerful enough to make him drop the sword and fall on his knees. "And that's definitely not how you protect someone." The paladin shook his head as he looked at Ed who coughed.

 

"No," Edward smiled through coughs, "but that's how you make a distraction." Jim's eyes went wide and Ed tackled him with enough strength to make the other lose balance. He knew he had no chance of defeating him and that, if he wanted to kill Ed he was probably dead. Still, he pinned the paladin down with all the strength he had and hadn't.

 

Jim Gordon struggled for a bit, "dammit, kid! You're forcing my hand!" He shouted before heabutting Ed's forehead. That caused the weaker of the two to fall to the side, dizzy.

 

Through the heavy armor, Jim had a bit of difficulty standing up. "That wasn't a great distraction either."

 

"I disagree," Oswald said into their minds before lunging forward to bite down his shoulder and a part of his chest. He gripped the man with his jaws, lifted him and swung him from side to side. After a few seconds of that, he threw the man to the ground. 

 

This time around, Jim was in a pretty bad shape. Oswald's teeth had managed to pierce through the armor which was now partially colored red with his blood. His right shoulder was a mess and he wouldn't be using his arm any time soon.

 

Edward lifted his head as his dizziness passed and he looked at the scene before him. Oswald was slowly approaching the knight like a predator about to collect his prize. Considering how intently he was  at Jim, Ed guessed he was probably saying something.

 

"N-no." Jim shrieked and shakily lifted his hand. Roots tangled around one of the beasts feet which he easily freed. Something close to a laugh formed in Oswald's throat as he opened his mouth.

 

Edward watched. The feeling of joyful victory washed off of his mind and was replaced with confusion. Why had his last attack been an attempt to contain Oswald instead of trying to kill him. Actually, none of Jim's attacks had meant to hurt the dragon, had them? His eyes went wide and he looked at the scene with a new understanding.

 

Despite all the pain, Edward forced himself to stand and ran as quickly as he could to stand between the dragon and the man, "Oswald, wait!" The beast was about to close its jaws around Jim's head when Ed threw himself on top of the knight.

 

Oswald stopped and pulled away to look at the human. "Edward, what are you doing?"

 

"He is not trying to kill you!" Edward shouted and looked back at Jim who was looking at him witj as much surprise as Oswald. "I really think he just wants to talk."

 

**...**

  **Oswald**

Just talk. Oswald couldn't remember the last time him and Jim had just talked. Somehow Edward had convinced him to not kill the captain, go back to his human form and put on his clothes so that they could talk.

 

Edward was tending to the other human's wounds and was actually doing a pretty good job. Jim winced as Ed finished sewing the bite wound closed. "Sorry." Ed said.

 

Oswald approached them with his arms crossed and an untrusting glare. "Fine, asshole. You wanted to talk? Talk."

 

Jim glared back at Oswald for a moment before sighing and looking down. "I came here because I need your help. I know that Galavan was the one who killed your mother and I need your help," Oswald's jaw dropped, "to defeat him."

 

Oswald started to laugh, "wait, come again?" He looked at him with disbelief and a shit eating grin. "You want me to help you kill Galavan after you tried to kill me and banished me for trying to kill him?" He laughed again. "Ok, this is absolutely gold!" He moved his hands up for emphasis. 

 

"Look, I was just doing my job. I didn't trust Galavan as much as you did but he was the new minister, what did you expect me to do?"

 

"And what made you change your mind, huh?" Oswald continue to sass the guard. "Did good old shining knight, paragon of Gotham Jim Gordon suddenly feel that someone had a dick bigger than his own?"

Jim looked down and took a moment to respond. "He has got Bruce Wayne." He said softly without looking at Oswald.

 

That was probably for the best since the shorter male rolled his eyes with disdain. "Of course."

 

"Who is Bruce Wayne?" Selina finally made herself known as she approached them with more medicine.

 

"He is the last vampire lord of Gotham and one of the richest people in the kingdom despite being probably younger than you. His parents died a couple years back leaving a very angry nation of regular vampires behind. I can't say I dislike him but I definetely wouldn't put my bottom out there for his head." Oswald explained.

 

"What about for revenge? Did you forgive him for what he did to your mother?" Oswald shot Jim a glare. He was walking in thin ice. "If so, are you going to just give up Gotham for someone like that?"

 

Oswald's eye twitched. Of course he had been planning on killing Theo Galavan once he was back but he didn't expect Jim's help, and he wasn't sure if he wanted it. He didn't trust the knight and they were definetely not friends, at least not anymore, but his chances were better with the captain. So, the question was, who he hated the most: Galavan or Gordon? "Well, if we are going to work together, I have a couple requests to make. One, I want a full pardon for me and my employees. Two, I want all of my treasure back. Three, there will be no 'locking him up', we're going there to kill Galavan and his sister, nothing more nothing less. Four, I want Bullock's head for stabbing me."

 

"I agree with all of them except for the last one. If you touch a strand of Harvey's hair I will personally hunt you down." Jim threatened despite really not being in condition for that. Ah, humanity's stubbornnes...

 

"Fine," Oswald offered him his hand to shake, "we have a deal."

 

Jim looked at Oswald and then his hand before shaking it. "We have a deal." With a pained groan, Jim stood up and limped ahead. There was something fulfilling about seeing Jim Gordon limp like that. The human pulled out a crystal and broke it in half causing a black portal to appear. Selina and Edward observed in awe. Oswald just grinned, he loved that face they made whenever something they hadn't seen happened. It made him feel superior for some reason. "A blackgate," the dragon nodded slightly, "fancy."

 

Jim looked at them. "Can we go before someone else decides to attack me?"

 

Oswald gave him a cheeky smile. "Is that an option?"

 

Jim rolled his eyes before limping through the portal. Oswald looked at the other two. "This is your chance to turn back. The place beyond," he was interrupted by Selina pushing him aside and running into the portal.

 

"Move it, Penguin." She disappeared. Oswald blinked confused at the nickname. What the hell was a penguin? He decided to ignore that for now and looked at Edward who was smiling widely. 

 

The two looked at eachother. "I- I don't even know what to say." The taller said with glee.

 

"It's probably best if you don't say anything." Oswald assured him. "It's still not too late to turn back."

 

Edward shook his head and walked past Oswald. "That is where you're mistaken, my friend!" He cackled as he disappeared as well.

 

Oswald sighed before following them. A moment later the grey foggy skies of Gotham surrounded them along with the black grass that really couldn't be found in any other realm. Snow could still be seen hiding a few patches. It smelled like home. "Humans, welcome to Gotham!"

**...**

 

**Gertrude**

Dragons were truly fascinating creatures. They had some of the highest levels of mana and had some of the most powerful spells of any species, even comparable to deities but had very limited ones. In fact, most dragons had access to just two spells: change appeareance which allowed them to transform into a humanoid species and a single breath depending on the color. The only way for one of these beasts to learn another form of magic would be to devour the heart of another dragon which would grant them the ability to access their breath as well. The problem was, that worked for anyone, including other creatures and thus one of the most powerful species in all the realms was brought to near extinction for not even the almighty dragons could fight the whole world.

Gertrude Kapelput was many things but an idiot wasn't one of them. She, like everyone in Gotham knew very well the price of a dragon heart, let alone a dragon egg. Selling that to the right person would mean becoming richer than a king but it would also send an innocent creature to an early grave. 

 

Gertrude had never been rich. She was born from a family of peasants and had had a relatively normal life. At young age she married a young soldier and learned how to love him. Years later around the time she got pregnant her husband was sent to another battle, this time against a group of orcs, however, this time he never returned. She raised their son Oswald by herself which wasn't seen in the best lights by the rest of the village but they mostly left them alone.

 

Tragedy befell once more as it normally did. Soldiers could be reasoned with, beasts could be fought but the plague was merciless and unstoppable. At just nine years old, her young boy of black hair and eyes fell ill and in the following year he left that forgotten earth. More years passed as she lived alone in the outskirts of the village. Gertrud had a small farm to feed, a couple sheep to take the wool to make clothes and a river nearby for her to drink from. She didn't need anything else except for a reason to smile most of the days. Nothing abnormal ever happened to her, so, when she found a large black egg stuck among the rocks of the river the woman wasn't sure how to react. At first she didn't think much of it, then the perspective of richness filled her but not for long. In the end the feeling that stuck with the older lady was pity. Poor creature, abandoned in such a ruthless world. It wouldn't survive on its own and it definetely would not survive nobility. Gertrud couldn't help but sympathize with it almost immediately. They had both been forgotten, they were both alone, but they didn't need to be, right? Sure, the old stories spoke how dragons were inherently evil but maybe this one wouldn't be. Maybe Gertrud could raise it to be good like her boy had been. She took the egg home.

 

When the dragon was finally born, the woman was surprised by how quickly it learned. As soon as it saw her for the first time it transformed into a human baby with pale skin, dark hair and eyes blue as she imagined the ocean was. Gertrud couldn't contain herself, from that moment forward she imagined if the gods had done it all on purpose. Maybe this was her son sent back to her after he had been so brutally ripped away. She called the small dragon Oswald for that.

 

As the baby grew older Gertrud discovered that the stories weren't exactly lies but weren't true either. Oswald was definitely more aggressive and violent than a human child would be but he was far from being evil. He was kind and caring, more so than most humans. Whenever she would fall ill he would make sure to care for her needsno matter what they were. He was also very determined and brave which scared her a lot. She knew Oswald was capable but she was afraid he would some day leave to face the world and never return. Of course, that never happened.

 

When Oswald was a teenager he became more integrated to the human world. The dragon required much more meat than a human and Gertrud alone couldn't provide that to him, so he began working. That was also around the time he began getting beaten daily. Those were some of the hardest days, if Gertrud could she would keep her little boy home with her forever. He was the reason she was still alive and she loved him more than anything in the world.

 

**...**

  **Oswald**

Oswald loved her too. The dragon wasn't sure why the first thing that came to his mind upon arriving was his mother but it did make him emotional enough to make a pesky tear roll out. Finally, Oswald was home.

 

He quickly wiped it before looking at the others, more specifically Jim who opened his mouth to speak. "I will be going back to the capitol. I have to make up an excuse as to why I was gone and now have a broken arm."

 

Oswald rolled his eyes. "I'm sure a healer like Lee will take care of it in no time. That's what clerics are for after all, right?" The disinterest in his voice was palpable.

 

Jim sighed and ran a hand through his hair before looking at the other two. "What about them?"

 

Edward and Selina looked at Oswald and Jim as if they had been broken off of a spell. The dragon couldn't help but smirk at their excitement. "I don't know. What do you two want to do?"

 

Jim arched an eyebrow. "So you just brought them along because?"

 

Oswald shrugged. "They said they wanted to come. I didn't see a problem with that."

 

"You did tell them they can never return to their realm, right?"

 

Oh. Oops. That had completely slipped Oswald's mind. He had never been one for following rules so he wasn't good at remembering them.

 

"I don't care," Edward assured them before Oswald could come up with a lie to get mister goody two shoes off of his tail, "I don't want to ever come back." The determination and joy in his glowing brown eyes was truly heart warming.

 

Selina seemed to hesitate but nodded. "Uh, yeah. Ditto, but I would appreciate having a ceiling over my head."

 

Jim hummed and looked at her. "Well, you could stay with me. I have one room vacant and it's not safe for a young lady like yourself to be sleeping in taverns."

 

Selina rose an eyebrow and crossed her arms with a rather unimpressed face. "Uh huh." Her stare very clearly made Jim uncomfortable as he attempted to avoid it. Eventually, the girl shrugged. "Sure. I will go with you. Try anything though and I'll make sure you never try again."

 

Jim cleaned his throat. "I assure you, I am truly aiming to keep you safe," he looked at Ed rather eager to change the subject. "What about you?"

 

Edward blinked. "Me?"

 

"Yeah, where will you stay? I have no more vacant room however I could give you enough silver to stay in a tavern and talk to my superiors about recruiting you. There aren't that many men brave enough to jump in front of a beast such as a dragon." It was rare to hear Gordon sincerely  compliment someone and yet he seemed fully interested in Edward.

 

Edward opened hus mouth but only confused sounds came out. He looked at Oswald. The two exchanged looks. "I mean," the dragon didn't want to let go of Ed, specially not to Jim Gordon, "if you come with me you can sleep in my lair. I have a room I only use when I want to sleep as a human. Plus, I have a library my employees can use to use more spells." He hoped he didn't sound desperate. "Of course, if you don't want to that's fine." He shrugged and looked down.

 

Edward looked between the captain and Oswald a few times before looking up and taking a deep breath. "What eight letter word can have a letter taken away and it still makes a word. Take another letter away and it still makes a word. Keep on doing that until you have one letter left. What is the word?" He looked at the two of them.

 

Both males stared back at Edward with confusion. "Uhhhh," Oswald tried to think. "I don't know, I give up."

 

"I am not one for games, boy." Jim said annoyed. Always the serious man.

 

"Starting. The word is starting. Even if I try to be something that I am not I will just end up as I was before. If I wish to be happy, I feel like I need to start being who I can be instead of who I should," he walked next to Oswald and grabbed his hand. "I will stay with Oswald, at least for now."

 

The dragon smiled pridely and wiggled his eyebrows. "Well, looks like Edward over here understands what is important in life. Not morals but being true to one's self. I hope one day you can understand, Jim." Oswald hooked his arm around Ed's and made his black wings burst through his clothes along with his tail. "See you soon, old friend. I will stop by the tower once I'm ready to attack."

 

Jim sighed. It was very clear he was disappointed but there was nothing Oswald could do. The dragon in the other hand was almost jumping of joy. In his entire life no one had ever picked him over anyone else let alone Jim Gordon, the face of all that was good in Gotham and yet, here was a human that actually wanted to be with Oswald. "Well, I hope you will be happy with your choice. I truly do hope you don't live to regret it." The captain turned around and lifted his hand. A purple glow came from the fingertips and a quasi-real skeletal horse appeared in front of them. 

 

Edward took a step back, probably surprised by the sudden creature. "Don't worry, it's just jim being a show off."

 

The captain helped an incredulous Selina on top of it before climbing as well. "See you soon, Oswald." With a shout, the creature ran off into the mist.

 

Edward blinked a few time as if he was brought back to reality. "Is he always so," he rolled his wrist as he looked for the world.

 

"Annoyingly charming? Yeah. Don't let that distract you. He has had two fiances and both of them are very unhappy. I would even go as far as to say their lives were much better before they met James. He really isn't as perfect as most people think. In any case," Oswald walked behind Edward and wrapped his arms around the man tightly.

 

Edward was visibly embarrassed by that and tried to look back. "Uh, Oswald? What are you doing?"

 

"I am making sure you don't fall. This will be a long trip, try not to puke." He said before flapping his big wings with enough strength for them to take off.

 

**...**

**Edward**

 

There was probably not a single person in the world who doesn't want to be the hero of their own story. Everyone would love to go on a quest to destroy a bad guy and save the love of their lives only to live happily ever after, but truth was, no one could get that and, as life went on most people would realize they related way more to the villains. That was true to Edward as well. Sure, he could go with Gordon and become a part of the holy guard. Maybe he would manage to save a princess and find the love of his life, but Edward was too old to believe in fairy tales. He wasn't a good man, there was no point pretending he was and there was specially no reason for him to be around good men. That was why he liked Oswald. He related to him and, more importantly Oswald seemed to be willing to teach him about this new magical world and, perhaps, even be his friend. It was true that heroes always got remembered, but true legends never died.

 

It was hard to see much from how tall they were. Fog covered most of Gotham making it a white ocean. Ed really hoped to explore all of it one day but at the current moment he was more worried about holding on to Oswald for dear life, not that he had to worry, of course. As the rational part of his brain noticed, the dragon was tightly holding on to Edward with both of his arms and even his tail around his waist. Still, the human was practically strangling the other with his arms around his neck and shook like a leaf while avoiding looking down or opening his mouth.

 

Oswald seemed slightly annoyed by the other's behavior but didn't say anything. It was almost professional how well he flew. Plus, he couldn't blame Edward, it had been thirty minutes since they took off and there was no sign that they would arrive any time soon, or so Ed thought.

 

Just as he wondered how long it took, the twisted black tower he was guessing Oswald called home came into view. "We're here!" The dragon shouted and hesitantly removed his face from Oswald's neck to look at the building. At first, Ed thought it was a mountain or, at the very least, a hill but there was no way those black bricks were natural. It had a single tower with spiralling spikes going around it. Its conical roof was fused to the tower in such a way that it was impossible to know where one started and the other ended. Edward looked for a window but,  much of his surprise, there was none.

 

Oswald slowly dropped until landing in front of a black oak door twice as big as Edward and as large as the dragon's wings which he retrieved. The shorter looked at Ed with a pride child like smile. His round eyes sparkled with glee. "Well, Edward, I am proud to say we have finally arrived. This is officially the place you will be calling home from now on," he pushed the door, "try not to be too blinded by all of my," Oswald's smile dropped and was replaced by horror, "treasure."

 

Edward, still a little shaken, walked behind him and looked inside. It looked like a pretty regular tower with a staircase that matched the spikes outside leading up. More importantly, he couldn't see any treasure. "Oh, I would love to see it, Oswald. Where is it?" He looked at the dragon. He was breathing heavily and fuming, very literally. Smoke was coming out of his nostrils.

 

"NOOOOOOOOO!" Oswald shouted, as he did purple fire came out of his mouth and hit the wall, causing Ed to jump back. Before the human could properly react and try to calm down the dragon, the beast jumped up and flew to the other floors. "Where is my treasure?! Mister Penn! Come here right this instant! I know you're here, you snake! Show yourself!" 

 

Edward sighed before climbing up the stairs. There were a lot of stairs, too much for an out of shape man like Edward who had had a beating and an overall really bad day. Was it even the same day? Hell if he knew. Eventually he found Oswald in the highest floor throwing whatever he could find. Considering the huge bed and the furniture, he assumed this was the dragon's bedroom. "O-Oswald," Edward lost his words as he panted and sweat like a big. He bent over his knees to try to catch his breath. "Who the hell is Penn?"

 

"That would be me." Both Edward and Oswald looked back to see a small, elderly man standing straight a few steps behind him. As far as the brunette could tell, he was human and nearly bald.

 

All Edward could so was feel the wind as Oswald flew past him in incredible speed and grabbed the other man by the collar of his shirt. "You had one job! Give me ONE good reason not to pry your eyes out this minute and make you choke on them."

 

"W-well," the man seemed like a nervous wreck. Ed was just glad it wasn't him. "You see, master Cobblepot, miss Kean appeared during your absence and hypnotized your men into taking your things. I'm afraid there was nothing I could do to stop her. I'm deeply sorry, sir."

 

"So, you're telling me Barbara raided my lair with my treasure AND my men?!" Oswald was shaking with anger. At that moment, Ed realized two things. He didn't need to be a dragon to be scary, his personality got that covered even if he was rather short and two, that man was dead. There was no way he would let him live after such an astronomical failure. 

 

It seemed like Ed didn't know Oswald that well since the black haired male let go of the other after taking a deep breath and yelled before punching the wall. Claws appeared where his finger tips once were and he scratched the sturdy walls deep enough to leave actual marks. The noise made both humans wince.

 

"Oswald!" Edward shouted and the shorter male looked at him with outraged eyes.

 

"What?!" Oswald hissed.

 

Edward adjusted his glasses. "Can't you just go to this miss Kean's place and take your treasure and men back?"

 

Oswald began laughing sarcastically. "Yeah, because it will be THAT easy. Well, I don't seem to have another choice so get ready, Edward Nygma! You and I are going to go kill the queen of the sirens!"

 

 

 

 


	4. Crystal castle

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Spoiler: Oswald is gay

~~chapter 4~~

 

** Crystal castle **

  **Edward**

Edward was glad to see Oswald in more appropriate clothes. They truly did fit him much better, not only that but his mood seemed to have shifted after taking a bath and a change. He no longer looked like he wanted to kill the whole human race but rather just a few bad apples. That was more than just an improvement in Ed's book and an unexpected one considering how mad the dragon thirty minutes prior.

 

"Are you sure you don't want to change as well?" Oswald asked as he looked a Ed. He now wore a long, black velvet coat that somehow made his skin look even paler which was only complimented by the black khaki pants underneath along with a purple dress shirt. Over his right shoulder, a black cape covered the right side of his body along with a cane with a pommel shaped like the head of dragon but not like Oswald's. No, the black dragon had a considerably more triangular and shorter head with a sharp mouth that nearly looked like a beak. Not only that but his teeth didn't ever show when his jaws were shut. That one looked way more like an alligator with a crocodile's teeth. Oswald's hands were covered in black fingerless gloves that made the tip of his fingers look like claws while his feet were covered by leather boots the same color as most of his attire. Finally, his feathery black hair had now gained spikes that followed the direction of his regal like horns. He looked absolutely astounding.

 

Edward noticed he had been just staring for the past seconds instead of replying. "Ah, yeah. I mean, no. No, it was a very kind offer but I'll have to pass." Oswald had offered some clothes of a member of his staff who wouldn't be needing them anymore. Ed would rather not wear someone else's clothes, specially a dead man's. He should have broughtsome clothes from the other world.

 

"If you say so." Oswald shrugged and turned around. "Well, I suppose we will be leaving then."

 

"Wait, won't your clothes rip if you use your wings?" Edward rose an eyebrow. It would be a shame to have such expensive clothes ruined.

 

Oswald smiled. "I appreciate your concern, however these clothes are enchanted to not get ruined." He assured him.

 

"Oh. That's good. Quite the tailor you have had then, huh?" 

 

Oswald snorted. "Indeed. Now let's go. That whore has played with my things for far too long." He offered Edward a hand. Ed hesitated for a moment while adjusting his glasses. Why was Oswald bringing him along? Did he want to make an example? Or was he trying to teach Ed something?  He truly couldn't see how he could be helpful in a situation like that but the man still took the other's hand.

 

Oswald pulled him so that his arms were around his stomach, which Ed thought was a bit weird but chose to remain silent, before jumping down. The dragon held Ed close as they flew through the door and into the grey sky.

 

**...**

**Oswald**  

Barbara Kean had quite the tragic backstory, a backstory some would attribute to Oswald but really it was hardly his fault. How the hell was he supposed to know that the emperor of Gotham would send the newest guard who had just arrived in the kingdom after battling in the crusades for gods know how many years? Well, he did. Technically. That was his plan after all. From the moment he saw Jim Gordon Oswald knew exactly the type of man he was and that allowed him to make a bet he ended up winning, but it still wasn't his fault!

 

When Jim came to Gotham with his fiance Barbara they were immediately crowned the most beautiful couple in the kingdom. He, a noble knight. She, a princess more beautiful than any human could dream to be. They were truly a fairy tale couple, but sadly even in that world fairy tales weren't real. After Jim was sent to slay Oswald but chose to spare and ban him instead, a practice that had grown annoyingly common in the two years they had known eachother, the special guard began looking into him, particularly Barbara's ex-girlfriend who planted doubt into the siren's mind. Eventually, Jim was thought to be guilty for Oswald's murder and ended up being sent away. Of course, back them very few knew about Oswald's true nature as a dragon which made made the crime even more heinous in their eyes. Barbara left Jim for her ex but Oswald wasn't too sure what happened between the two, all he knew was that they broke up again around the time the paragon returned after being convicted not guilty, Oswald was still alive after all, but their relationship was never the same again. He didn't take her back and yet she still paid the price when one of Jim's enemies decided to attack her to get to the guard. The ogre who was ironically a human. Again, Oswald didn't know what happened while she was held captive, all he knew was that the Ogre made her kill her parents and that she snapped. What was rescued from that awful man's grip was no longer the woman from before. Oswald did actually pitty her, at least at that point. Poor woman, she lost all that she had. Her parents, her loves. Her greed blinded her and her pain changed her. "And that was how the mad queen of the sea was born." He finished explaining to Ed just as they reached the ocean. 

 

Edward was silent. Oswald really hoped he wouldn't judge him but he couldn't see his face from their position. He didn't think Jim would be persecuted like he did nor how his actions would affect that woman's life, but again, fate worked in odd ways. He knew very well both Jim and Barbara still blamed him for what had happened, they probably hated him too. 

 

Oswald landed on the shore and gently put Edward down. He looked down at the soft white snow contrasting to the cool dark water. Silence filled the air.

 

Eventually, Edward spoke. "It's hard to believe a mere hunan would be able to nearly slay someone like you, Oswald."

 

"Well, he can't anymore. At least alone. The problem is that my more powerful attacks are far too destructive. I couldn't use everything in our last battle, plus, I couldn't risk burning him and ruining the crystal. That's why I struggled slightly in our last fight." Oswald hoped he didn't sound as offended as he felt. Jim Gordon could not defeat him, at least not anymore. "But yes. Back then I was too stubborn to use my full form and I could only use fire, plus, I underestimated him." He sighed. 

 

Edward nodded. "Well, I'm glad you aren't dead." He smirked slightly. For some reason Oswald felt warm. He couldn't help but smile back. It was a sincere grin, something he somehow found to be easier around Ed. "Anyways, what now?"

 

Oswald smiled more widely, a child like grin, and pulled out a green crystal from a pocket. He bent down and gently touched the water with it. The crystal started to glow and the dragon took the other man's hand. He noticed he was holding his breath and snorted. "Don't worry, there's enough oxygen down there for both of us."

 

"Oh." Edward said and looked away a little red from embarrassment. 

 

Oswald rolled his eyes while still smiling. The light surrounded them until nothing but it could be seen. Less than a second passed before it ceased.

 

They were no longer in the beach. The walls and ceiling surrounding them were as glistening and green as the crystal was with a faint blue coloration. The floor was made of white marble that reflected the blue lighting. The throne room was big, bigger than Oswald's but it wasn't anywhere as high. Personally, he preferred the ebony and obsidian that made his castle but he supposed this wasn't ugly either. He could tell Edward disagreed since his eyes glowed despite his best attempts to remain indifferent.

 

Oswald turned his attention to the woman sitting on a throne made of a green turtle's shell. Her blue eyes looked at the two of them with an intensity only Barbara could manage. Her hair was blonde and bobbed, her skin was as pale as the marble on the floor and her lips were as red as blood. Yes, she was beautiful. All sirens were. For the most part Barbara looked human except for her gills and the fins that replaced her ears. "Ozzie," She said and forced the fakest smile he had ever seen, "I thought you were dead." She crossed her legs and rested her chin against her knuckles. 

 

"Well, isn't that a common misconception? Sometimes I wonder if anyone dies in Gotham anymore." Oswald replied with dangerous sarcasm and forced a chuckle.

 

"Indeed. Odd times. I mean, who would have thought a werebeast would be able to defeat a dragon and rule over Gotham? I mean, sure you aren't anything that special, sometimes I wonder if you aren't more human than dragon but still."

 

Oswald's eye twiched and he bit his lower lip for a moment. Oh, if that bitch thought she could disrespect him she was very mistaken. "Let's get straight to the point, I want my treasure and my men back."

 

"Oh?" Barbara smiled, amused. "Is that so? And why would I do that? I'm sorry, Oswald but your time has come and gone. Gotham has a new emperor and the North a new queen."

 

He knew it, that bitch was working with Galavan. "Well, if you don't I'll kill you and destroy everything you deem dear."

 

Barbara scoffed and stood up. "Bold words for a little man who has nothing left. Although I am curious, who is the human next to you? Your secret weapon?"

 

Edward tensed up upon being talked to and looked down at his feet. "Edward. Nygma." He introduced himself. As Barbara took a step forward, he took one back. Oswald walked in front of him.

 

"He is my associate. My partner if you will. I'll make a great wizard out of him but first I thought it would be good to show him who not to trust, starting with the fish head queen herself." Oswald had a mean grin as he spoke. Barbara didn't react as she squinted.

 

"You are right, Ozzie. I am a siren," her eyes glowed red and her voice became silky, "and I suddenly hungry for human and dragon meat."

 

**...**

  **Edward**

Sirens were powerful creatures. The more royal they were the least they looked like a fish. Most sirens had the tail associated with the species and couldn't dream of being anywhere near the surface, but not Barbara. The queen could breathe both under or above water. Sirens had also unique spells pertinent to the species such as water control and, the scariest thing about these creatures, mind control. All they needed to do was speak and the person who heard it would be forced to obey their orders. Men were specially affected by this spell. Edward learned this the hard way.

 

As he heard the woman's silky voice, something bloomed within him. Despite his alter ego's best attempt, the man was completely hypnotized by the woman.

 

And it seemed like it showed as she smiled at him, gaining a stupid grin in return. "Come here, Eddie." She said softly and moved her finger. Her red eyes were so absolutely beautiful. Ed's feet moved on their own, eager to close the distance between them. "What a good boy you are." She said gently and pushed Ed's shoulder so that he dropped to his knees.

 

 _'Edward Nygma, wake up!'_ The other Ed shouted for no avail. He looked at Oswald who seemed to be paralyzed as well. He had the same stupid grin. Great. They were doomed.

 

"Now, Oswald." Barbara said and opened her hand. From the ceiling and walls, water slithered until they reached her hand. "I'm going to kill you, but first I want you to kneel in front of me."

 

Oswald let go of his cane and walked towards the siren. He kneeled in front of the woman who smiled a wicked grin and gently slapped his cheek. "Yes, now kiss my ring." The dragon took her hand before kissing the diamond of her ring. She lifted the spike. "Now swear your loyalty to me."

 

He spoke slowly with long pauses. "Long live," the pupil of his eyes become slit and a large, devil like grin formed into his face. Barbara noticed that and tried to get away with wide eyes but was stoppes by the hand gripping hers. "The king!" He spit out before opening his mouth to let a freezing breath escape him. Barbara screamed and struggled but not for long as her entire body became solid. Oswald laughed maniacally all the while. He let go of her and made sure she was burried in ice before stopping with a proud grin. 

 

He limped to Ed with a proud grin. "Ah, Barbara, Barbara, Barbara, I may not be as strong than most dragons but I'm definetely smarter. I wonder how that bastard will react once he sees one of his pawns covered in ice." He bent down in front of Ed who was still startled but took his hand. "I personally think his expression will be absolutely HILARIOUS!" He cackled and Ed smiled a small grin. For a moment there he thought they were goners but he probably shouldn't underestimate the dragon.

 

"Oswald, that was amazing. I'm sorry that I let her control me so easily." Edward stood up and they both looked into eachother's eyes.

 

"Thank you, Edward. And don't worry, most men are made into complete fools by sirens." Oswald turned around and took his cane. "Now let's find my things before someone comes and finds her."

 

**...**

**Oswald**  

Oswald was gay. That was why Barbara's spell didn't work. Not many knew about that, Fish did and he was pretty sure Jim suspected it but that was about it. Homosexuals weren't illegal nor persecuted in Gotham, at least not in the past twenty years, but it was still frowned upon by the other members of society plus, Oswald believed in one true love so regardless of his tastes it wasn't like he would be doing anything until he had found the right person. Oswald was gay and still a virgin.

 

The dragon couldn't deny that he was a little embarassed about those two facts, specially the latter, however he refused to be plagued by those thoughts as he walked down the stairs to the dungeon. Werebeasts weren't exactly hard to deal with and so the guards were killed with no problem. Soon enough he reached the cold dungeons were dozens of man sat in confusion and terror. "She killed so many." He mumbled causing the human to look at him. 

 

Edward put a hand on his shoulder. Oswald looked back at him. The edge of his lips bent slightly. "Alright, let's start freeing them," he felt a chill run down his spine. He quickly shoved Edward out of the way before getting hit by a club almost as big as him. Oswald was sent to the ground immediately. 

 

He looked at his attacker, a half orc twice as big as Oswald. The bigger man smiled and grabbed the dragon by the horn with enough strength to make him scream in pain. "Hey, boss. Missed me?" The man smiled. Butch Gilzean.

 

"B-Butch, let go of me right this instant!" Oswald demanded and tried to kick away.

 

Butch laughed. "I don't think I will." He pulled Oswald by the horn and shoved him against the wall. He punched Oswald in the stomach with enough strength to make him cough. His ears are ringing. "See, I received a better job proposal. Basically, I make sure beaked little freaks don't go wondering around and I receive twice as much as you used to pay me."

 

The half orc wince as a bar hit him in the head. The bar bent into an L shape but Butch seemed to be just annoyed. He turned to look at Ed growled making his large fangs even more prominent.

 

"Oh dear." Edward said as Butch tried to grab him by the throat. Luckily the human was faster. He tried to kick him on the knee and immediately regretted as he fell back with a scream. "Fuck! I think I broke my thumb!" He yelped.

 

The large half human laughed before kicking Ed in the chin. That gave Oswald enough time to make his tail wrap around the man's ankle before pulling, causing Butch to fall like a big tree. The dragon tried to escape his grip but got grabbed by his tail. Butch pulled him as the other desperately tried to escape before grabbing him by the neck. Edward grabbed Oswald's cane and pulled out his hidden blade. Oswald was surprised, he didn't expect the other to know he had a hidden blade, let alone where it was. Edward tried to stab him in the eye but hesitated for a second. That gave Butch enough time to grab him by the neck as well. He pushed both of them against the wall.

 

"So, who is this, boss? My new replacement?" Butch licked his teeth.

 

Edward hissed. "I would need to lose a hundred and fifty IQ points for that."

 

Oswald snorted despite not understanding it and immediately regretted it. His head was throbbing.

 

"What the hell was that supposed to mean?" Butch growled and squeezed their necks more.

 

"I w-will pay you triple!" Oswald struggled to say.

 

Butch rolled his eyes. "You don't get it, do you, Oswald? It's not about money, you're a threat to Gotham! You killed Fish and tortured me to become your play thing!"

 

"He will pay you quadruple!" Edward struggled to say in Oswald's behavior.

 

Butch rolled his eyes. "Sorry, kid. I mean, I don't know you but wrong place wrong time."

 

"I'll pay you six times what she is paying you! And I will let Tabitha live!" Oswald said desperately.

 

"Also, if you help us you get a full pardon!" Edward coughed out.

 

Butch blinked. "The hell you're talking about?"

 

"Jim Gordon and the holy guard will go after Galavan tonight! It will be a bloodbath!" Oswald shouted and squirmed.

 

"Barbara is down too, Oswald froze her! You have no chance of winning!" Edward added.

 

Butch hesitated.

 

"C'mon, Butch! Think of the good times we had! Plus, you can have a better life with Tabitha!" 

 

Edward nodded and closed his eyes. Butch sighed and let go of them. "This better NOT be a trick."

 

Both coughed and panted while rubbing their necks. "I promise, B-Butch! Help us out and you'll have all you want and more! If not feel free to take our heads." Oswald assured him.

 

"Yeah, wait, why my head too?" Edward looked at Oswald offended by the suggestion.

 

"Deal." Butch hissed before turning around. "But this is the last time I save your ass, Oswald." He walked off to open the cells.

 

Edward looked at Oswald with an annoyed look. "Why am I part of the deal?!"

 

"Relax, Edward. We will win. Bruce is too important for Jim." Oswald assured him.

 

"That's not what I'm worried about. If Jim is half as bad as you claim, he won't be handing out pardons to dangerous criminals like that. What if he doesn't?"

 

Oswald swallowed hard, "then, my friend, I suggest that we start training our legs to run, or learn how to live without our heads."

 

 

 

 


	5. A mansion in the woods

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The calm before storm.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I've decided to continue the fanfic in here just because I think it takes way too much space otherwise, specially considering I wanted to make it 5 parts long. Sorry ^^; 
> 
> I'll be posting every other day except on weekends unless I have nothing to do.

~~Chapter 5~~

 

**Visitors**

**Edward**  

Edward had to admit it, those healing potions were fantastic. Three hundred milliliters were all that took to make the man feel brand new, physically that is because emotionally he felt hopeless. Butch had beat them up completely and nearly killed both him and Oswald and now the dragon wanted to go fight a war against his boss, with a possible army of people like Butch. Oswald had assured him that he was the only half orc under Galavan and that werebeasts were easy to kill but Ed wasn't so sure. He was starting to doubt Oswald's power. Maybe he was wrong but the thought of dying was very unappealing to him. 

 

"Well, that's all." Oswald clapped his hands together as they finished returning all of his quite immense treasure to where it should be.

 

"I'm not sure leaving your treasure around is the most efficient way to store it." Edward remarked. 

 

"It isn't, it is more of a test. If anyone steals from me they lose their heads so most avoid the temptation. I know exactly where each golden coin is and it's all enchanted so that I know when it's been touched." Oswald put his hand on his hips and took a deep breath.

 

"I suppose that is more effective although it doesn't appear to work in long distances." Edward shrugged without looking at the other. His arms were folded in front of his body and he rubbed his elbows with the tip of his fingers.

 

Oswald rolled his eyes slightly and turned on his heels. "Anyways, I will get going now. Jim and I have a lot to discuss before the battle. Don't worry, mister Penn will keep you safe."

 

Edward blinked in realization before quickly looking at the other. "Wait, aren't you bringing me along?"

 

Oswald hesitated before looking the man in the eyes with his pale blue ones. "Ed, this few weeks we have been together were fun and I thoroughly enjoy your company, however, I must admit, as you are right now you aren't the most," he sucked in some air and rolled his wrist as he tried to find the right word, "fitting to battle. At least right now."

 

Edward felt like he had gotten stabbed. "Did you just sat I'm useless?"

 

"What? No, no." Oswald shook his head to emphasize before stopping and looking down. "Well, yes. But it's ok for you to be useless! You just arrived in this realm and your main ability lies within your brain not in your muscles. If you came I'm afraid you would get hurt without accomplishing anything."

 

Edward scoffed. "Oswald, are you seriously calling me dead weight?! After all we've been through?!" He was beyond offended. 

 

"Edward, please try to understand. This is for your own good." Oswald proceeded to walk ahead while bringing his wings into view.

 

"Oh, hell no." Edward reached to grab Oswald's wrist. "You don't get to decide what is best for me, Oswald!" He hissed. 

 

Oswald looked back at him with surprising calm and put his hand over the other's. "But I do, Ed. You're like a child in this place. You don't know half of the things that can kill you, hell, you still see this as a fairy tale!"

 

"I do not!" Edward squeezed his wrist and took a step closer. "What if something happens to you, huh?" 

 

"In that case I'm sure Jim will take you in. I suppose you could use a part of my fortune as well. It is not like I'll be missing it," Oswald attempted a joke and very clearly forced a smile. "Don't worry, if I'm gone I doubt Butch will come after you. He's nowhere as much of a monster as he looks." The dragon pulled his wrist with enough strength to make Ed let go. Before the human could react, the dragon flapped his wings and flew away.

 

"Oswald, wait! Please!" Edward shouted and tried to reach for him, but the other was already too far away. That was when Edward realized, he was worries about Oswald. Not because of some plot or to get anything in exchange. He was legitimately worried about the well being of his one true friend. "Shit!" He shouted.

 

**...**

  **Selina**

Gordon's place wasn't bad at all. It was a cozy cabin by a river with a lot of food that Jim had granted the girl permission to eat. Boy, was she hungry. At first Jim had tried to start up some conversation with Selina but soon gave up on the idea. The girl proved to be far too intimidating for even the paladin. He let her know that some people would be coming for a meeting before the battle, not that she really cared.

 

The first one to arrive was the kidnapped boy's butler, because of course he had a butler. The man had silver hair and worn out by time complexion but still seemed to be in exquisite shape considering how fast he was able to storm inside. It was surprising to hear the man's accent. 

 

About fifteen minutes later, a new man appeared. This one had a beard, long hair and too much love for food based on his appearance. He seemed to be closer to Jim seeing how they spoke. He even tried to calm the first man. 

 

A girl appeared along with the second man. She had red hair and her face was covered in freckles. The pout on her face was big enough to make even Selina uncomfortable. It was very clear that she didn't want to be here nor did she want to be with the other man. Still, she reluctantly sat down and stared at a wall, occasionally looking over at Selina. 

 

The older girl considered her options. The three man had left to their bedroom so Selina decided to humour her, at least for now. "'What's up?"

 

The red haired girl blinked in confusion. "Uh, the ceiling? The sky? That's a weird question."

 

Selina rolled her eyes. "That's not," she shook her head, "nevermind. What's your name?"

 

"Ivy Pepper." Ivy shifted a little on her spot. "Yours?"

 

Selina shrugged and slouched over the couch. "Selina," she wouldn't just say her full name like that. Ivy still waited for it, however, and when it never came she looked away. "So, uh, you didn't come from Gotham, right? Bullock told me you came with Jim from some other realm."

 

"Yeah?" Selina rose an eyebrow.

 

"How is it like?" Ivy said with eyes glowing with curiosity.

 

Selina looked up as she thought about a proper answer. "Boring and awful."

 

"Oh. It sounds a lot like here." A ghost of a smirk formed in the girl's lips.

 

Selina snorted. "Hey, there is more food in here so I think I'll be sticking around," she said and waited for the other to say anything but she never did, "so is Bullock your father?"

 

Ivy laughed with no humour. "Please! Bullock is the asshole who shot my father." She said with indignation.

 

Selina blinked. "Wait, for real? Then why the hell are you with that asshole?"

 

Ivy hesitated for a moment before looking down. "Because he was the only asshole that gave two shits about me after my mom died. Even though I bit and spit on his face. Even after all the horrible things I told him. Even after I tried to kill him and ran away several times, he always found me. He always took me back and treated me well, better than even my parents did. He is far from being a perfect person and I sure as hell don't like him but," she mumbled, "I'm not perfect either, you know? And I don't think he's a bad guy. I guess it's better to be with him than without him." She shrugged. "Even if I'm pretty sure he doesn't like me either."

 

Selina listened to her intently. She couldn't help but feel jealous. "Huh." The girl leaned back. "Lucky you."

 

Ivy looked at her almost insulted. "What?"

 

"I never met my parents. I was always by myself in my entire life, struggling to even find the smallest traces of food or a roof to sleep under. I would had given anything to have something even resembling a parent growing up. Yeah, sure, maybe the guy just adopted you because he felt guilty or out of pity but that's mors than a lot of people do. Most people just ignore you or, even worse, run away from you. The only people that offer help are those who are also rejected by society and they will always want something in exchange. Sometimes it will be something small, but most of the time it isn't. Most of the time it is something awful but you have to do it to survive and soon enough you're drowning in a debt that not even making a deal with the devil will be enough to pay. So you sell the last bit of integrity you have until you're nothing but an empty shell. The dude that killed your parents adopted you and is actually a decent human being? Lucky you."

 

Ivy stared into Selina's eyes. None of them dared to look away for a long time before Ivy's face fell and anger was replaced with sadness. "I guess. Sorry to hear that. I didn't mean to sound ungrateful."

 

Selina took a deep breath. "It's cool. I shouldn't have lost my head either. We all have problems, I'm not trying to make yours seem less hard but I think you're being really unfair. I know people who would have killed to have that."

 

Ivy looked at her and smiled slightly. "It's fine. I get it. The time I ran away was really tough. It was just three days but I really did think I would die. The worst part was the loneliness although the cold and hunger weren't great either. Just know that if you need anything I'll do my best to help you, Selina. I don't want you to pass through that ever again."

 

Selina blinked a few times. Well, maybe that wouldn't have been so bad but she doubted that Bullock guy would agree. "Thanks. That means a lot."

 

The door burst open and Penguin, uh, Oswald came in. He looked at Selina and it was definetely good to see his pupils round instead of a slit. "Hey, kid, where's Jim?"

Selina pointed at a door with her thumb. "He's talking to the butler and Bullock."

 

Oswald growled. "Bullock." He huffed before letting himself fall on an armchair. He rubbed his bad knee.

 

"Nice clothes." Selina complimented and received a new glance.

 

"Thanks, do you know what we will be doing?" Oswald asked.

 

Selina shook her head. "Sorry. He just asked me to help and I agreed. I think we will leave in a few hours though, after dark."

 

Oswald scoffed. "Great, we will fight in the dark against a bunch of werebeasts in a full moon. Like we didn't need anymore handicaps. No offense, kid, but you should have said no."

 

Selina shrugged. "I appreciate your concern, Penguin, but it's not like I intend on throwing my life for the cause. If it gets too dangerous I'll get the hell out of there."

 

Oswald snorted. "Then I think you might be the smartest of us all. Why do you keep calling me that though?"

 

"What? Penguin?"

 

"Yeah. Is that a slang from your word?"

 

"Uh, no. It's an animal that I'm guessing you don't have here." Selina said carefully. "I think you look a lot like one."

 

"Oh. Is it a cunning and powerful animal that is both feared and adored by the people? Is it a symbol of nobility?"

 

"Uh," Selina wasn't sure how to reply at first. Might as well feed his ego. "Yeah, sure."

 

Oswald smiled full of himself. "The almighty penguin. Yeah, I could live with that." Selina had to contain a laugh.

 

Oh, she was so dead if he ever found out.

 

**...**

  **Edward**

Edward felt awful. Not even Oswald wanted his help anymore. Sure, he understood where the other was coming from but it still hurt. He wanted to be helpful, he wanted to do something, be something but instead he had resorted to reading. A battle of the ages was going own and he was reading about the different magical items that existed. Sure, it was an interesting book that he would have loved to read at any other given time but not now. Now he was just frustrated.

 

Oswald's library was quite impressive. There were very likely a couple hundred books in it which went from novels to historical books. Ed had managed to read two books already ever since they arrived, he was quite the fast reader after all, but no matter how much he tried he found it hard to focus.

 

' _Why are you mad? Oswald won't die, and if he does we can grab his treasure and scram._ ' The other Edward said.

 

"Because he's my friend and friends worry about eachother." Edward barked.

 

' _Please. You've known eachother for two weeks, most of which he was asleep. You are the only one who sees him as a friend. That's your problem, always the romantic. Remember Kristen?'_ Edward felt his face burn. ' _You dreamed of a life with her the night after you meet her and oh boy, were those some nice dreams.'_ The other cackled

 

"First, you shouldn't look into my dreams. They are personal. Second, this is different. Oswald does care. I know he does, otherwise he wouldn't have left us here."

 

' _Well, someone who cares wouldn't be so eager to give up their friend's life_.'

 

"It was the heat of the moment. Yeah, he isn't perfect but I still trust him." Edward closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He opened them almost immediately as he felt something pressed against his neck. A blade.

 

His eyes went wide. "Well, well, well, what do we have here?" Said a woman's voice into his ear sending a shiver down his spine. He tried his best to look at her. The woman had black eyes. Her raven hair was long and fell over her shoulders like a waterfall. Her skin was a warm dark color and Ed would had found her attractive in other circumstances.

 

"Uh, c-can I help you?" Edward asked and cleaned his throat. It wasn't the time to feel like a nervous duck.

 

"Can you?" She whispered into his ear and he felt his entire body warm up. His heart was almost escaping his mouth. 

 

' _Oh boy_.' He heard his ghost say as he felt her breath against his skin. Ok, fine, maybe he did find her attractive regardless of the circumstances but this wasn't the time. This woman was the enemy. An evil being who was a danger himself and, as a wise prophet once said, bros before hoes. 

 

"You work for Theo Galavan. I'm assuming you are here to murder Oswald." Edward cut the chase.

 

The woman tilted her head amused. "Smart boy, aren't we? So, be an even smarter boy and tell me where Butch and the freak are. That way we won't have to ruin your book with your blood. That little asshole has to pay for what he did to Barbara."

 

Edward swallowed as he felt the blade more against his throat. So she wanted Butch too. This must be the Tabitha Butch was speaking of before. Now, he could use this for his advantage.

 

"Oh, dear, did no one tell you?" Edward asked with a rather shaky but also sympathetic tone. 

 

"What?" The woman squinted at him.

 

"Who makes it, has no need of it. Who buys it, has no use for it. Who uses it can neither see nor feel it. What is it?"

 

The woman growled and pushed her blade enough to draw blood. "Do I look like I'm interested in games?!"

 

"A coffin, Tabitha Galavan. I'm afraid your lovely Butch Gilzean was killed by Oswald after our little expedition," he noticed her eyes go wide and her mouth open in horror, "he ate poor Butch whole." Ed smiled a wicked grin causing Tabitha to punch him and throw him on the floor.

 

"You're lying!" She barked and put her blade against his throat again, this time Ed was waiting for it.

 

Edward grabbed her wrist forcefully to keep her there. A glimmer of insanity sparkled in his eyes. "Am I now? And how do you know? It's not like you would have been able to see the body but I'm sure Oswald won't mind vomiting the bones for you." He tried to grab her throat in her moment of shock and terror, but she was still faster and more skilled. The woman kicked away his hand and stomped on it with enough strength to make him hiss.

 

She punched him again. "Tell me where he is!"  Ed continued with the lie, she punched him again and again. This was going nowhere and he was seriously starting to feel dizzy.

 

"Ok, fine! I lied!" He hissed. "Oswald tries to get Jim's help but he refused so he went with Butch to try and get an army. They want to attack until the end of the week."

 

Tabitha loosened her grip. For a split second Ed thought she was teary eyed but it must have been the light. The woman let go of him and stood up. "So that prick wants a war, huh?" She looked down at Ed who was still collecting himself. "Well, thanks." She turned around to leave.

 

"Wait!" Edward shouted and wiped some blood off of his nose. "Aren't you going to kill me?"

 

Tabitha looked at him for a moment. "I could, but I don't really have to so I won't. Besides, I want Oswald to fear us when you tell him we know about his plan." She smiled widely before walking off.

 

Edward coughed some blood. He definitely had a broken nose now and his body hurt even more but he still laughed. Useless? Never. Oswald was wrong and he had just proved that. If they thought he was weak they would get crushed. The man felt as if a heavy weight had been lifted off of his shoulders, but he still wasn't satisfied. This story was his to tell and he wouldn't miss a single moment.

 

**...**

**Oswald**  

This was a horrible plan. Sure, they had the element of surprise on their side but only thirty men and a handful of holy knights against over a hundred werebeasts guarding his mansion at full power. If that wasn't bad enough there was a magic barrier around that only allowed tranformation spells to work. It would be his claws against theirs.

 

"So, here's the plan. Harvey, you'll be responsible for the distraction. Try not to engage in combat, just ger the werebeasts as far away from the base as you can. Oswald, you're with me. We will be taking care of Galavan, his sister and anyone else with them. Selina, you find and rescue Bruce. Do not engage in combat. Got it?" Jim said as they hid close to the mansion.

 

"Got it." Most of them said in unison except for Harvey. 

 

"Uh, Jim? Are you sure we should let this kid do this? I don't the death of a kid in my consciousness."

 

"I assure you, Harvey, Selina has much better chances than you and your braindead soldiers." Oswald growled. "If anyone else disagrees with the plan, turn on your asses and leave. We don't need cowards. We need warriors willing to do anything to win."

 

None of the men said anything. Jim nodded. "Good. Let's go." Jim and Harvey exchanged a look. "Good luck, partner. Don't worry, we will win this battle."

 

Harvey sighed. "I hope you're right, buddy."

 

Oswald rolled his eyes and hissed. "Can you two kiss after I have Galavan's head? Thank you."

 

They both shot him a glare before Jim stood up and walked to the dragon. Oswald opened his wings and begrudgingly put his arms around Jim's waist. "Give us five minutes and then start."

Harvey nodded before Oswald jumped into the sky. There was a time he wanted nothing more than have him in his arms, holding him back. Hell, he had even dreamed of a similar scenario multiple times but he new Jim didn't care and never would. Fucking Bullock had better chances with Jim than he had, not that it mattered he was happily dating that cleric chick. It didn't matter, it had just been a crush but now Oswald was over it. He had just accepted the fact he would probably die alone. He didn't need a single person's love, he just needed the people's adoration and maybe a friend. He had that in Ed. His mind drifted to Ed. He hoped he wad ok.

 

"Oswald," Jim said and pointed at an open window. The dragon nodded before quickly flying in. They were in the kitchen it seemed. Good. The dragon retrieved his wings and tail. 

 

"So, what now?" Oswald asked while looking around. The moon was their only light source.

 

"Can you smell them?" Jim whispered.

 

Oswald shrugged. "There are a lot of werebeasts. It will be hard to isolate their specific smells."

 

"Then we wait." Jim sighed.

 

"We wait." Oswald nodded.

 

They waited.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, Ivy and Bullock. I didn't really like how the show treated both of these characters, specially Ivy. I think there was so much potential for a father/ daughter relationship there in which Harvey adopted her out of guilt. At first they kinda hate eachother but Harvey tries to make it work and eventually Ivy gives him a chance too. It could become something like Jane and Cliff from doom patrol eventually but nah we gotta have sexy Ivy and sidekick Bullock. That's just a little rant though. Also, Tabitha is hot. Sure, I don't like her character very much but she is hot.


	6. In time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Definetely the most serious chapter so far. Probably the longest too.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I will refrain from using original characters in my work however I will be using less known characters from the comics that I really think should have appeared in the original show.

~~chapter 6~~

** In time **

**Oswald**  

The following seconds felt like an eternity. Oswald could hear voices coming from outside but he couldn't recognize what they were saying. Considering Jim's frustrated eyebrows, he imagined he couldn't either.

 

The paladin sighed. "You know, all of this is your fault."

 

Oswald looked at him and scoffed with disbelief. "PLEASE, Jim, do enlighten me. How is ANY of this my fault?"

 

"Well, you scared don Falcone away. That brought these freaks to the city. If you had stayed quiet," Oswald interrupted him.

 

"If I had done nothing you would be in this exact same position but with Fish, and I assure you, she was considerably less understanding. Face it, Jim! This is your own fault. You put the Wayne kid in danger and you chose not to believe me when I warned you about Theo. And why? Because your ego is far bigger than your ears and your morals are so deep up your own ass you were blinded to the true evil. I might not be the greatest man alive but I have integrity and standards. I am trying to make a better Gotham but you keep getting in my way. If you were to just let me do what I want and, for once, put this kingdom above yourself you'd see this. I don't want to be your enemy, Jim. I never did. I know you are a good man and I don't want to start a war against you but if things keep going like this then we will end up at eachother's throat with a knife in eachother's heart."

 

Jim went silent for a moment. "You're right."

 

Oswald blinked. Wait, had he actually reached him? "Wait, I am?"

 

"Yeah. This IS my fault. I shouldn't have trusted Galavan." Jim looked down.

 

Oswald rolled his eyes. "Ugh, that's not the point I'm trying to make, Jim! I," there were loud curses outside as the attack began. Both man went silent and waited as the werebeasts began counterattacking and the room outside became silent.

 

Jim stood up and sneaked to the door. Oswald followed. The captain opened a crack and looked outside. There wasn't anyone there. He looked back at the dragon and nodded before leaving. "Upstairs?" He asked quietly.

 

Oswald nodded. "I'll go first." He flew over the stairs and landed on the floor. It was much easier to identify the smells now. There were a few in the second floor but the ones they were after were in the third one. Theo Galavan. He looked back at Jim who was still climbing the stairs and pointed up. He gestured to the ceiling and received a a nod in return. Now, the dragon wasn't one for fighting openly. He would much rather manipulate his enemies but they didn't have much of a choice. Their best plan would be for Oswald to distract them while Jim maybe got a clean kill. 

 

So that's what he did. The man flew to the top floor and knocked on the door. The voices coming from inside suddenly stopped as someone came to get the door. It was just a random goon but that didn't stop Oswald from sliting his throat with his claws as soon as he came into view. Blood flowed through the wound and the man gagged in an attempt to breathe as life escaped his body. Oswald didn't let the corpse fall and, instead, used it as a shield in front of him. He knew they had crossbows and he wasn't in the mood for getting shot.

 

"Oswald." Theo spoke calmly with a wide grin, but the dragon could tell he wasn't happy. He was very clearly older than his sister and didn't exactly have her sex appeal but his charm and charisma was palpable. In a way they were fairly similar, same hair color, same skin tone, same eyes, same danger. He wore a white overcoat with a red dress shirt underneath.

 

"Theo." Oswald replied with a as calm and as fake tone. The blood poured on his hands as he held the man's corpse. "I thought about throwing a surprise party for you now that you have returned to Gotham." He walked around them to get their eyes away from the door. He could smell Jim approaching.

 

"How thoughtful of you. I was actually planning something similar. In fact, my sister went ahead to say hi to you in your lair. I think she missed Butch too. Girls, am I right?" Theo smiled more widely.

 

Oswald's shoulder dropped. Wait, what about Ed? If that bitch went to his home did she find Ed? Oh God, what did she do to him? No. That wasn't time for that. Edward was fine. "Well, sorry to disappoint."

 

"Oh, you didn't." The voice wasn't Galavan's but Tabitha's. It came from the ceiling. The dragon barely had time to look as the woman dropped on top of him like a spider. He fell to the ground with a yelp and she pinned him down, her claws burying into his wrists. "In fact, I would say this is way more fun." She licked her lips.

 

Oswald hissed and tried to kick her away but failed. She straddled the man and looked at her brother. "Do you need him for anything else or can I just take his heart?"

 

Theo shrugged and waved his hand dismissively. "Go ahead. He has since long lost his utility."

 

Tabitha smiled widely and focused on Oswald again. In one quick movement, she ripped his clothes enough to reveal the dragon's bare chest. Her claws sunk into his skin, causing the man to wince in pain. He could feel his own warm blood leaving the wound. "You know, I was very disappointed when it turned out your mother wasn't a dragon like you. I personally hate human meat. I'm sure it will be different with you."

 

His ears were ringing, not with pain but with rage. "I will make sure you beg for your death before I stab you over and over again!" Oswald spit out with poison.

 

Tabitha snickered and burried her claws deeper. "I wouldn't do that if I were you." Jim warned sternly while his silver blade was pressed against Galavan's throat. He had managed to sneak behind him while the two were distracted. Not a second too early too, Oswald thought. "Get off of him." Tabitha and Theo exchanged a look. "Now!" Jim barked.

 

"Tabby," Theo said cautiously. Tabitha growled in frustration but obeyed and got up. She still kept a foot over Oswald though.

 

"There. Now let him go," Tabitha cracked her fingers, "before I lose my temper."

 

"Jim." Oswald stared at him with eyes that screamed 'just slit his fucking throat already!' Jim looked at Oswald and then at Tabitha before taking a deep breath. "I'm taking you to the Station," Oswald closed his eyes and gritted his teeth with frustration while both Tabitha and Theo smiled, "you have the right to remain silent," he began cuffing Theo, which gave the creature enough space to counterattack. He headbutted Jim before hitting elbowing the paladin in the groin. His armor absorved most of the impact but with his unhuman strength, Theo managed to send Jim to his knees.

 

"Why don't you ever learn, Jim!" Oswald roared before kicking Tabitha on the knee which gave him enough space and time to jump to his feet. The woman lost her balance for a moment but soon found it. Now both werebeasts were looking at Oswald with their fangs bare. The full moon illuminated the room and their bodies as they began to shift. Jim was still down and Oswald was bleding. Oh boy. 

 

With that thought, Tabitha let out a battle cry that transformed into a guthural roar as she tackled Oswald through the window. Glass scratched his skin as the two of them fel towards the garden. He caught a glance of the battle in the distance, so much for not engaging in combat. This was a a fiasco. 

 

The dragon managed to kick Tabitha far enough for him to shift into his full form just as he landed on the grass. Tabitha landed on her feet now fully transformed. She was a white Siberian tiger almost as big as Oswald himself in fact, without his tail she was definetely bigger than he was. Size wasn't what made the creature scary, however, no, that went to the fact she had the ability to become essentially ethereal. She couldn't be hurt and it was impossible to tell where she was, not even Oswald's sharp sense of smell could find her. Of course, while in that state she couldn't interact with anything either but it wasn't a problem for her.

 

The tiger bared her teeth before disappearing. The dragon cursed in his mind and spread his wings. Just as he was about to fly, the beast attacked sinking her sharp canines in the the crook of his wings. Oswald let out a cry of pain. That was one of the few spots that wasn't covered in scales to allow flexibility. He tried to hit her with his wings and tail but she determined to detach his flesh from his bones. As a horrific tear grew where his tendons met, he managed to wrap his tail around the creature's leg. He sunk his spikes into her thigh and threw her back with all of his strength. This time she fell on her back.

 

Oswald stood there panting and tried to collect himself from the pain. His now torn wing hung from his back by a thin layer of fiber. Just the thought of flying hurt. No magic, no flight. No way to escape. The dragon had never imagined he would die fighting let alone fighting next to people he barely liked but that possibility became more and more real by the second. Tabitha got on her feet. She was limping and bleeding which made him smile but, other than that, seemed fine. Once again, the girl disappeared but luckily as long as she was bleeding he could keep track of where she was. He walked backwards like a threatened animals until his back touched a boulder and he was forced to stop.

 

It was a pretty garden, he thought. It had a small lake in it where the carps still swum unaware of what was happening. The grass was much greener than the one native to Gotham, although a good chunk of it was destroyed now and some bushes filled with berries decorated it all, giving it color. Several boulders were placed around the garden to delimiter the perimeter. The tiger was getting close. There was nothing he could do. He had no plan, no way to counterattack and his only ally was fighting his own monster. All he could do was close his eyes and accept his fate.

 

Tabitha came into view and jumped at Oswald with her claws bared. He opened his eyes. "Or not." The dragon threw himself out of the way, causing Tabitha to hit the boulder with her face first. She stumbled back, confused and that gave Oswald enough time to jump on her back and sink his teeth into her neck. His position didn't allow the hit to be fatal but, if he deepened it enough, then maybe he would have a chance.

 

Tabitha roared in pain and shook her back while kicking to try to get the dragon off but he had wrapped his good wing around her torso and his tail was back to her leg. "You're mine now, bitch!"

 

"Get off of me you Smaug wanna be!" Tabitha shouted into his mind.

 

"Not a chance, pussybitch!" He growled and sink his teeth deeper causing her to fall. He smiled triumphantly, unfortunately he didn't have enough time to celebrate as something was sent flying from the same window as they had: a bloodied Jim Gordon.

 

"Jim!" Oswald shouted in his mind and got no answer. Several chunks of his armor were either missing or burried deep into his body. Somehow he was still holding his sword and breathing but with those wounds he wouldn't be for long. Well, he should have slit Galavan's throat when he had the chance. Not Oswald's problem, or so he thought until a third entity jumped down. The beast took the shape of a grisly bear that was somehow even bigger than Oswald. The moment he his the ground, the earth shook making the dragon instinctively hold Tabitha more tightly.

 

Galavan barely had a scratch. He simply shot a glare at Oswald with enough intensity to make even a dragon like him wince. "Let. Go. Of. Her." He said calmly into his mind and walked to them. 

 

Oswald knew he couldn't defeat Galavan in the condition he was in so, all he could do was obey and freed Tabitha. The tiger coughed some blood before turning into her human form. She held on to the wound in her neck as much as she could. The dragon turned human as well. His shoulder was still a mess.

 

Theo looked at Tabitha. "I can't believe you couldn't even defeat Oswald."

 

Tabitha looked down like an ashamed child. "I'm sorry." She coughed some blood. "He tricked. I was winning."

 

"Yeah, and if I were one minute later he would have taken your life. Oh, yeah, I can definetely see how that's winning." Tabitha gritted her teeth as her lower lip trembled a little. "Just grab Gordon's blade and finish him off." The bear said finally and turned to look at Jim who had finally let go of the handle.

 

Tabitha sighed and nodded, "yes, brother." She said before limping to Jim. The woman took his sword and headed towards the dragon. Oswald didn't have enough strength to stand so he sat. His mouth was covered in blood and so were his teeth.

 

She lifted the sword above his head and he looked her in the eyes with a smirk. "Even if you kill me now, I'll die happy, because, in the end of the day I won. Nothing you can do will ever change the fact, and killing me now will make you a loser forever. In twenty years you'll look back to this and think of the time you lost to someone you thought were so much weaker than you and how you were never able to amend that," he started to laugh. Tabitha looked at him with disgust. "C'mon, it's funny! Well, maybe not for you but I still got my revenge after all and that's why I'll die laughing." He continued to laugh.

 

Tabitha gritted her teeth. "You're insane."

 

Oswald shrugged with his good shoulder while he kept his petty smile. "So everyone keeps telling me. But I'm also a winner. Oswald Cobblepot. Always. Wins." 

 

Tabitha grunted and pushed the sword down.

 

Bang!

 

Just as the sword was about to touch Oswald's chest, a loud sound reverberated through the air. He looked up only to see a red hole in Tabitha's stomach. Both the weretiger and the dragon stared at it with surprise for a second before they both turned to look back. 

 

Not too far from where they were, Edward Nygma stood. He was panting and in completely new clothes, a green suit with a with a white dress shirt underneath. More importantly, he had tge same gun he had pointed at Oswald all those weeks back pointed at Tabitha. "Thank God I made it here in time." 

 

Tabitha growled and tried to move but Edward shot her in the stomach again, this time making her fall. "Eddie!" Oswald shouted with glee and laughed tired, "God, I could kiss you right now."

 

Edward smiled back. "Not so useless after all, huh?"

 

"Bastard!" Theo screamed into their minds causing the other two to flinch. He lifted his giant paw and brought it down to slash Ed, but was stopped by a silver sword blocking his way.

 

Oswald had no idea how Jim could still move. He wasn't even sure how he could still breathe. Maybe those were the benefits of being blessed by the gods. Regardless, he deflected the claws without being able to stand straight. 

 

A head popped out of the window, Harvey's head. "Jim! We're buddy!" He shouted. All of them looked at Harvey. Next to him Selina and a boy with dark hair and while as snow skin appeared, Bruce Wayne. Oswald couldn't contain his smile.

 

Neither could Jim as he looked at Galavan. "Give it up, Galavan! You lost! Your sister can still be saved, just give yourself in and I promise we will take care of her."

 

Theo considered it for a second before looking at Tabitha. "Tabitha," he said with sorrow but also determination, "will you lay your life for your brother?"

 

The woman looked at him with a clearly hurt expression but still nodded. "Of course. Brother." Despite all of the blood and all of her wounds, the woman began standing up.

 

Edward's eyes went wide. "N-no way!" He shot her again causing even more blood to pour out but she didn't let that stop her. Her body began to shift as she once again tramsformed, except her fur was no longer white but rather a blood red.

 

Oswald cursed under his breath and did all that he could to stand up and tackle Edward out of the way just as the beast attacked. The both of them rolled out of the way until they hit a wall. Oswald took most of the impact.

 

"How the hell?!" Edward took a momentto reestablish  before raising his gun. He aimed it at her eyes before shooting. The bullet pierced through her her right eye, causing her to whimper in pain as even more blood came out. She didn't stop. "Just stop! Please!" Edward begged, Oswald could tell he was scared. He shot again, this time her other eye essentially blinding her.

 

The tiger stumbled to the ground and coughed up blood before standing up again. She continued moving. Theo stood up and jumped over the boulders before running away. "Why?! You're just going to die! Why are you protecting him?! He left you!" She didn't stop. 

 

Jim roared and stabbed through her ribs into her lungs. The tiger cried out in pain but didn't stop. She didn't even try to attack Jim. She just continued moving towards the two. "I don't think she can hear you!"

 

Edward tried to shoot again but his gun was empty. He looked at the creature that loomed above them. No movement. She just stood there looking at them for a moment. Oswald looked back at her. All of her confidence was gone, all of her fire was gone. All he saw was emptiness. Saying that she was still alive would be a lie. She was dead but something was making her body move still. Something was keeping her laced in that painful, horrible stable. The dragon didn't know why. Maybe he never would. She finally lifted het paw.

 

"Tabby!" The beast turned to look towards the voice. Oswald did the same. Butch had finally managed to find. The expression in the man's face broke the dragon's heart. Upon seeing Tabitha his eyes filled with tears. "N-No," his voice shook along with his body. "Tabitha, please," he sobbed and slowly approached them. Tabitha took a step closer to him.

 

"Butch?" She asked weakly. It was more of a plea than a question. She went to take another step but ended up falling. Butch immediately ran towards her and fell to his knees next to her head.

 

"I'm here, baby! It's me," he said and gently put his hand over her forehead.

 

"W-we can't l-let them go after T-Theo." Tabitha said shakily. She didn't sound fully counscious. "He asked me, Butch. He was always such a frail kid. I've always had to take care of him. I have t-to protect him. I have to." She took a last breath before her entire body just stopped. She returned to her human form.

 

"It's ok, baby. It's ok, I'm here with you now. I'm here." He pulled her head to his lap and hugged it while kissing her forehead. He rocked back and forth. "I'm sorry that i left, Tabby, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry, I'm sorry." He continue to cry and apologize to her even if her body had grown cold. 

 

Oswald watched the scene for a moment before looking into the distance. "Shit, Galavan!" He struggled to stand up.

 

Edward blinked and looked at him. He was shaking. "What you- you can't be serious right now!" He pointed at Tabitha.

 

Oswald looked at her and then Ed before hissing as his shoulder throbbed in pain. He put his hand over it. "He is weak now! He has no one else, we must kill him before he gets to Barbara!"

 

"You are in no condition to fight, Oswald! Tabitha is dead and he lost all his power isn't that enough already?!"

 

Oswald stared at Ed for a moment. "No." He stumbled to Tabitha's corpse and pulled out the sword. "It will only be enough when I have both of their heads impaled in my front yard! They killed my mother! I," he turned around and just as he did Edward hit the dragon in the head with enough strength to make him go uncounscious. 

 

**...**

  **Edward**

Edward shook his head. His breathing was hitched and he felt horrible. He had tended to a few of Oswald's wounds but the potion did most of the job. In his entire life he had never felt this awful. Not after killing miss Kringle, not even after the beating and insults his father threw at him while drunk, and the worst of all, nobody was scolding him. Most of the guards had praised him for saving Jim. Once Oswald was out, Butch picked Tabitha's body and carried her away without a word. No one tried to stop him. Even Jim had assured him her death was self defense. At first it had been but at some point after the first bullets it became more of a cruelty. Jim knew that too.

 

Edward sighed and looked down at his friend. "They did a number on you too, huh?" He moved a lock of hair away from his eyes. "At least none of the wounds were fatal." He mumbled. He was glad he had found a crystal like the one Jim Gordon had. It allowed him to go back to his world, grab a few things and come back. The problem was finding the mansion. Mister Penn offered to teleport him close to it but not exactly inside since there was an antimagic barrier.

 

His mind went back to how merciless Oswald had been before. How cruel he was. Could Edward have been wrong about him?  Was Oswald a bad man? He no longer knew. Hell, he didn't even know what type of man he was. Edward felt lost. What was the point?

 

"Hey." He heard a voice behind him and turned to look at a skinny boy with a stern look on his face. He sat next to Ed. 

 

"Hey. Uh," Edward wasn't sure what to say. He was too emotional to really know. He looked down in silence.

 

"I just wanted to thank you." The boy said. Ed looked at him. "If it wasn't for you, Jim would be probably dead right now. I'm not sure what I would do if that happened."

 

"No problem. If I'm being honest i wasn't aiming to save him."

 

The boy shrugged. "I know. You're the Penguin's friend," he paused, "I mean, Oswald's friend, but even if you didn't intend to I still want to thank you."

 

"You're Bruce Wayne, right?" Edward asked a little bit more curious. 

 

Bruce nodded. "After my buttler, Alfred, Jim is the closest thing to a dad I still have. He is a good man even if he doesn't think so." He looked down. "That's something very common in Gotham, good men that don't think they are good because they did a bad thing. In fact, I think the other way also happens a lot, bad men that do good things. It's kinda weird if you think about it." Edward remained in silent. "And yet both good and bad men die, good and bad men have good and bad days and good and bad qualities. Sometimes it is really hard to tell a good and a bad man apart. Maybe there's no way to tell them apart, maybe everyone can be a good or a bad man sometimes. I think that what's important is what we are trying to be rather than who we are. It's all subjective anyways."

 

Edward couldn't help but smile warmly. "You're a really smart kid, you know that?"

 

"So I've been told." Bruce looked down. "I can tell you aren't happy with what you did and I can't say it was right and wrong but it's done now. You can't really go back. If you don't like what you did maybe you could find a way to make sure it never happens again."

 

Edward sighed. "It isn't that easy."

 

"Why not?" He looked at him.

 

"Well, because," he looked the boy in the eyes and tried to find an answer, "uh," he blinked a few times, "well, sometimes you don't get a choice. It's either kill or be killed."

 

"That's not true. If you really thought you had no choice you wouldn't be feeling guilty." Bruce arched an eyebrow.

 

Edward blinked and looked at him for a moment. His eyes were sharp and curious but also kind and caring. More importantly, they were filled with rage, the same rage Ed had felt a long time ago.

 

"Master Bruce!" They both turnes to look at the old man calling.

 

"Sorry, gotta go. Think about what I said, ok? I really don't think you are a bad man, Edward Nygma." Bruce stood up and offered him a quick smirk before running off. 

 

"Weird kid." Edward mumbled before looking back at Oswald with a sigh. At least he had calmed down a little. "Better to bring you home before you wake up." 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was my favorite chapter to write, specially the fighting scenes. In the next chapter I'll be focusing more in Ed's and Oswald's relationship along with Ed's magic study. And, uh, yeah. Tabitha is dead but hey if anyone has a diamond worth 1000gp I'm sure we can bring her back. I'm sure she won't want revenge either :)
> 
> If not we can just reanimate her instead, right?


	7. Strawbery Cocktail

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A more chill nygmobblepot focused chapter. I feel like this is needed since the last one was kinda heavy, that is until it is not.

~~Chapter 7~~

 

** Strawbery Cocktail **

  **Edward**

Edward was glad that Jim had offered to bring them back home. He hadn't notice how cold the nights of Gotham were through all the events of the evening but now that adrenaline had died down and he was no longer within a warm space his body shook like a leaf. The only thing keeping him. Oswald's warm unconscious body was definetely welcome but there was just so much proximity he could keep to his friend with an excuse to keep him from falling off of the horse without it seeming weird. During the trip, the captain had left Ed to his own thoughts which wasn't exactly comforting. He felt guilty for what he had done and frustrated for feeling guilty. As his alter ego kept shouting into his ear, he had done what he did out of necessity. Tabitha was a bad woman, a monster but again, nobody cried over monsters. Monsters didn't sacrifice their own life just so that someone they loved could escape. Monsters didn't spare the lives of random people siding with the enemy. She was human and that was what hurt Edward the most.

 

"Listen," Jim broke the silence as the black tower came into view under the moonlight, "there is a high chance Theo will come after you. I'll tell my men to keep an eye out there but I don't recommend that you stay by yourself. Barbara and Butch might come for you too but, you know." Ed simply nodded while looking at the skeletal mount's vertebrae. Great, he would be depending on Oswald even more. A part of the human was still a little shaken by his friend reaction. If he hadn't stopped him how far would Oswald go? "There's one more thing." Edward looked at Jim. He could barely see his face from his position but his tone told him this wasn't good. "Like I told you before, you weren't allowed to go back to your old universe but you still did it not even a day after you came. The law deems that as a crime with banishment as it's punishment."

 

Edward's eyes went wide. "I saved you. I only came back so that I could be of help!" He tried to argue.

 

"I know, that's why I'm not arresting you right now but I'll have to say the truth once people start asking how you killed Tabitha and from that point on I won't have a choice but to go after you."

 

"You can't do this, Jim!" Edward pleaded. This was the worst type of betrayal, surely Ed expected something like this from Butch and maybe Oswald but not of the warriors of God.

 

"Save it, human," Oswald mumbled much for Ed's surprise and stirred to properly sit on the horse, "it's not really you he is after. It's me. He wants a reason to make me a criminal again after my pardon. You're just the means for one's end."

 

"Oswald that's not," Jim started but Oswald lifted his hand to make him stop. The horse also stopped in front of the door.

 

"Spare me your excuses. I was never afraid of the church and I won't start being now, however I will remember this, James. There will come a time when you will need my help again and I will look back to this moment before looking you in the eyes and say a simple word. No." Oswald jumped down and winced. His cane had broken so he had no choice but to limp inside. Ed could tell he was in pain from his scrunched expression.

 

Without a word, Edward glared at Jim for a moment before walking towards Oswald to try and help him. Really, he was just looking for heat.

 

As soon as Ed tried to put an arm around the shorter man, Oswald pulled away hastily and glared at Edward. "Don't touch me." He demanded and walked inside. The dragon was angry.

 

**...**

 

Oswald sighed as he let himself fall on his bed. A part of him wanted to sleep on his other form but he wasn't feeling like sleeping on the cold floor. Sure, his bed wasn't as comfortable as Edward's had been but it wasn't too bad either and it was definetely bigger. The dragon turned on his side and looked at the wall. He wasn't angry per say, just hurt. Edward had attacked him and Jim betrayed him. The two people he had tried so hard to assist wounded him more than Theo or Tabitha had hoped to. He heard a knock on the door.

 

"Oswald, may I come in?" Edward asked from the other side of the door. The dragon rolled his eyes.

 

"Do whatever you want, human." For a moment he thought Edward had left him as he didn't come in, but eventually the human found enough courage to open the door.

 

"Oswald, I know you're mad at me," Edward said shakily, "and I'm mad at me too."

 

"Oh?" Oswald scoffed, "and for what reason would I be mad at you?" He turned to look at Ed. The human's lips were purple and his skin was far too white. His entire body was shaking. "Edward, what the hell happened to you?!" Oswald asked with worry and sat up.

 

Edward approached. "I hadn't r-realized how cold this place was. P-perhaps I should have brought warmer clothes. It doesn't matter."

 

Oswald sighed before standing up. "It does matter. That's why we wear enchated clothes to sleep. Gotham is terribly cold at night." He picked up a purple robe and gently threw it over the man's shoulders. It was too short to warm his entire body but at least it was ensure that the man didn't die. "Tomorrow I'll ask my tailor to make you some clothes. I think I know your tastes enough by now ti know what you would like. For now, you should lay with me. I'll keep you warm."

 

Edward took a deep breath of relief even if his legs were still cold. He paused and looked at Oswald with surprise and embarrassment. "Are you sure?"

 

"Yes, I'm sure. It is not like we weren't sleeping on the same bed in your place." Edward seemed to consider it for a moment before laying over the silky purple sheets. Oswald laid next to him and put an arm around the other man to keep his body warmer. He was so cold the dragon had control himself to stay pressed against him, specially since the human brought their bodies even closer, a little too close for the dragon's comfort. 

 

The two stayed like that in silence for some time.

 

Edward was the one who spoke first. "I'm sorry for hitting you."

 

"You should be. After everything I did you just betrayed me like Jim Gordon did to both of us. Worst of all, you were scared of me. After everything we went through, you were actually afraid."

 

"Oswald, you aren't being fair. Yes, I was afraid. I was terrified but not of you, I was scared for you. It's not an exaggeration when I say you are the best thing that has ever happened to me, not only because you saved me for a boring life but you are the best friend I've ever had. Hell, you are the ONLY friend I had and the first person that has seen me, the real me and not ran away. I know I'm not the best when it comes to feelings and I might seem cold and distant sometimes but I truly and honestly care about you and I don't ever want to do anything to hurt you." Oswald couldn't contain himself. The human's words were just so genuine pesky tears began rolling down his eyes, even a few sobs he tried his best to silence but became known soon enough. Edward blinked and moved to look athis friend who was facing the other way. "Are you crying?  Oh dear, I didn't mean to make you said."

 

Oswald shook his head and wiped away his tears. "N-no," his voice broke making him clean his throat to collect himself, "I'm not crying, shut up," he took a deep breath, "but the feeling is mutual, Edward. I haven't had anyone care for the real me ever since my mother died. This has probably been the hardest year of my life. I have never been so lonely," he admitted frankly, "Gotham is a beautiful kingdom but also a ruthless one. Everyone is just waiting to stab you in the back. You can't trust anyone and the more powerful you become, the more true that is as well. I'm just glad to have you."

 

Edward relaxed and smiled a little before laying down. "I promise you, Oswald, I will never betray you. I will stay by your side for as long as you like."

 

Oswald smiled as well. "In that case, my friend, I think we might be staying together forever."

 

**...**

**Edward**  

Two months passed rather uneventfully. During that time Edward focused on his studies of the world and magic but things weren't going so well. Surely, he enjoyed reading about the history and biology of the many inhabitants of Gotham but when it came to magic he wasn't so lucky. Sure, he learned a few shield and healing spells but when it came to the seven schools of magics none seemes to entertain him: Abjuration was as far from his style as possible, Illusion was interesting but lacked any attack power, enchantment was too dependent on other people or objects and he was trying to be self sufficient, divination was great but like illusion it lacked attack power, evocation was too simplistic and rudimentary, transmutation was too weird and conjuration had potential but was also not exactly what Edward wanted. He could tell Oswald was growing impatient even if his friend wouldn't explicitly say anything. The dragon would sometimes come to his library while Ed studied and picked a random novel to read in silence next to his friends. Most days they would spend hours like that without a single exchange of words. Edward noticed Oswald had some difficulty to read and asked him about it. The shorter male explained that he learned how to read rather late, in fact it had been Fish who had taught him. Lately, however, Oswald would spend more time discreetly looking at Edward than reading.

 

While looking for some inspirations, Edward began researching about some of the more influential people in Gotham, starting with Fish. She had been a witch who specialized in illusion magic. She worked under Don Falcone, the old Emperor of Gotham who was an actual angel, a fallen angel but an angel nonetheless. As Ed expected, angels were the most revered creatures in the world only under gods and demigods but those were never seen and were believed to not even be real by many. Even angels weren't sure of their existence. Next in the hierarchy were legendary creatures such as archdemons, liches, vampire lords, sphinxs, hydras, true unicorns, the kraken, beholders, titans and, of course, dragons. Anything underneath fell into either humanoid for creatures who were sapient and animals for those that were not. There were even demisapient for those that had a rudimentary understanding of the world.

 

A few other important figures to Gotham were, of course, the Waynes who were responsible for integrating better medicine to the continent while also being the basis for peace between the undead and the living inhabitants of Gotham, Victor Strange, a mysterious wizard who had helped with important researchers regarding magic and a few other noble families. There wasn't anything regarding Oswald but he imagined that was because he had rose into power rather recently. There wasn't a lot about dragons either besides a few fairy tales about how dangerous and evil they were. Edward had learned more about their anatomy with Oswald than those books.

 

"Any luck?" Edward jumped as he heard the voice into his ear. He turned to look at Oswald withe wide, startled eyes and took a moment to speak.

 

"A--are you trying to give me a heart attack or what?!" Edward asked louder than he would have wanted. 

 

Oswald took a step back. "My apologies, you were just pacing around and talking to yourself, I thought you might have found a spell that interested you."

 

Edward's heart calmed down but he was still sweating. "Oh, was I? No, no, I was just reading a history book." Oswald nodded without looking at the human. Edward felt a stabbing pain in his chest. Was he mad? He didn't want to make Oswald mad but at the same time he had all the right to be considering how long Edward was taking. "But, uh, if there is any other spell you think I should learn or something you'd like me to do I'd be more than happy to do it."

 

Oswald looked him in the eyes for just a moment before looking down. "Well, I was about to go out to a social event. You can come along if you wish."

 

Edward's shoulders relaxed and he exhaled without noticing he had been holding his breath. "Alright, I'll change into more proper clothes. I don't think anyone would like to see a guy wearing nothing but a green robe." He joked and smiled.

 

Oswald blinked curiously. "You are naked underneath your robes?"

 

"Uh, yeah." Edward admitted and closed his book awkwardly before putting it back on the shelf. "It was laundry day and I didn't want to wear my good clothes around the house but I'm sure at least my boxers have dried off. Give me thirty minutes, ok?"

 

"Alright?" Oswald wore an expression Edward couldn't quite recognize. It wasn't disgust, it was closer to curiosity but not exactly. He shook the thought off and ran into the bathroom to bathe quickly and then get dressed.

 

His clothes were composed of a dark green rope, sleek golden lines framing the edges of his jacket creating symmetrical symbols on the clothing's collar. He had a black undershirt as well the fabric reaching up to his neck, gold outlining the rims of the shirt before falling down the rest of the shirt into a minimalistic design. They were nice clothes, nicer than Ed could ever dream of wearing. He walked out of his room to meet Oswald who had just finished talking to a servant. "So, how do I look?" He lifted his arm into a pose and smiled proudly.

 

Oswald's jaw dropped. "You look absolutely magnificent." He said short of air.

 

Edward chuckled. "Thank you. I hope the ladies will be as impressed." He joked.

 

Oswald looked away. He seemed hurt. "Right. Well, let's get going, shall we?" The dragon walked out where a carriage still waited. His wing wasn't fully healed yet and he refused to go into hibernation again so they would have to travel like that for a while. Ed sat next to him and looked out of the window as they moved in silence. Eventually he decided to speak. "So, where are we going?"

 

"To Fries' lair." Edward arched an eyebrow in confusion which Oswald noticed. "He is a snow elf who lost his fiance. He transformed his lair into a tavern to fund his research in an attempt to bring her back. That's the one place in all of Gotham where there's absolutely no chance of things getting messy. Everyone respects him too much and starting a scene there would mean everyone in the kingdom would be against you, good and bad, so no one tries anything."

 

Edward looked at him as he spoke before looking ahead. "Why are you going somewhere like that?"

 

"Barbara is going today. I hope to get some information on Galavan and maybe Butch. Feel free to drink just don't drink anything that sounds weird. Some of that stuff is poison for a human." Oswald said uninterested.

 

"Ok, what do you want me to do?" Edward asked. For much of his surprise, Oswald pulled out a bottle with a bright blue liquid inside. Just the smell was enough to make Ed sick. It smelled like rotten wood. 

 

"Moral support." Oswald took a sip of the odd substance. "And to drag me home if I get too drunk. I don't need to wake up on a stranger's bed."

 

Edward looked at him worriedly. "You seem nervous. You don't get nervous easily and I doubt it's because of Barbara."

 

"You like riddles, right? Here's a riddle for you, Ed, what has sharp teeth, no hair, black dead eyes, white in the name and is known for being ruthless?" Oswald asked while looking down at the bottle.

 

"Oh, a great white shark?" Edward replied immediately.

 

Oswald chuckled nervously. "No, but close. His name is Warren White and he is, by a long margin the worst villain in Gotham. And he also likes me way too much for my own comfort." He chugged another sip. The car came to a stop. The dragon looked outside at the ice cave in front of them. From where they were, Edward could hear voices. He waited for Oswald before walking out.

 

**...**

**Oswald**  

Oswald wasn't the only one who thought White was the worst of the worst, that was one of the few things most in Gotham agreed on. Even Jerome who had been absolutely bonkers wanted nothing to do with this man.

 

Warren had been born a noble of Gotham, human in any and all ways except at heart. Once his parents died, seemingly of natural causes but Oswald wouldn't be surprised if that bastard had had something to do with it. There was probably not even a single person in that whole kingdom who hadn't had anything stolen in one of the man's many schemes. One of the most note worthy one was when he started a charity to build an orphanage only to steal all the donates money, kill the kids, sell their organs and then proceeded to target parents so he could have more orphans to restart the cycle. He did that for five years before he was finally found out and sent to Arkham where he somehow got even worse.

 

Oswald walked inside. Ice covered the walls and ceiling. The tables and stools were decorated to seem made of ice as well and everything had a white and blue aesthetic. Both guards and criminals drank away with no worry in the world. He looked around until he found his target. Barbara was drinking with two other nobles. He looked around. No signs of White. With a sigh of relief, Oswald began walking towards the siren before beung interrupted by a hand on his shoulder. The dragon tensed up. "Heya Ozzie." 

 

Oswald turned around to look at the tall man behind him. A few years back, this man could have been beautiful but life hadn't been kind to him. The man wore black robes that contrasted with his entire body except his black eyes. He ran his tongue over his sharpened teeth. "Barbara said you were coming, little bird, but I 't so sure." He said in a silky voice.

 

Oswald's pale blue eye twitched at the nickname and at the thumb rubbing his shoulder far too friendly for his own taste. The dragon  a step away. "Well, the two of us have some unfinished business." He tried to sound the least aggressive as he could.

 

"Well, what do you say you two solve it over a game of poker, hm? We were about to start playing." White gestured to the table where Barbara sat next to Harvey Dent. While Harvey shuffled the cards uninterested the siren watched Oswald with a wretched smile. 

 

Oswald scoffed. "And why should I care about getting more money like this when I have men raiding dungeons every day?"

 

"Well," Barbara was the one who replied as she rested her elbow on the table and leaned against the palm of her hand, "maybe because we aren't betting just money. Winner gets to ask any of the losers any question and they have to answer truthfully. We will even have Harvey put a truth spell on them, right darling?" She brushed her delicate fingers against his shoulders.

 

Dent shrugged. "Sure, I don't mind. I'm just glad to have interesting people to gamble with for once." The half elf said. Odd man, definetely the most uncertain one in Gotham. Sometimes he would be the most loyal in the world and then out of nowhere he would stab you in the back, steal all of your clothes except your socks. That had been a rough day, a rough day that served as a reminder as to why Oswald would never work with Harvey again. Two faced prick.

 

Barbara looked at Oswald with dangerous, expecting eyes. "See? What do you say?"

 

This was a trap. He knew this was a trap but it was also too good to pass up. He took a dramatic deep breath before sitting down in front of Barbara. "Fine." 

 

White smiled widely. "My man." He joked and sat next to Oswald close enough for their thighs to brush against eachother. Much for Oswald's comfort Edward sat next to him. It was nice to have a friendly face in that sea of hungry sharks. Based on the human's tense posture he could tell he was as uncomfortable as the dragon was.

 

Harvey looked at Ed. "You're the guy that killed the Galavan chick, right?" Edward's shoulders dropped and he looked down. "Are you going to play too?"

 

"No. I'm not interested in betting games." Edward mumbled and focused on a crack on the floor.

 

"He is just Oswald's pet. Just throw him a bone and that should be entertainment enough for a while." Barbara said sharply and both Ed and Oswald shot her a glare.

 

"Oh, your pet?" White asked with a curious tone while Harvey dealed the cards. Oswald knew this wasn't a good type of curiosity.

 

"He is my main mage. A wizard. He also helps me a lot with the administration specially since people started stealing what is mine." Oswald squinted at Barabara.

 

Barbara laughed sarcastically. "Now that is rich coming from you, Ozzie." She practically growled those words. "Is there anything you own you actually earned because, as far as I know, everything you have is stolen, sometimes from places that aren't even Gotham!"

 

"Well, I'm sorry if not everyone was born in a golden crib and that some people had to work for what they have!" Oswald's face was warming up with anger. Ed put a hand on his shoulder to calm him down. He looked at the other for a moment, finally realizing he had stood up and sat back down with a pout.

 

The game began. Harvey was the one responsible for dealing the cards every round and, to no surprise, he won most of them. No one really seemed to care that much, the money they were betting was nothing amd they just knew eachother too well to bluff. It would be best to just wait for a good hand and then rub it in Barbara's face. Most of Harvey's questions were about the economy and less like questions and more like Dent's way to rub it in how much he knew. Oswald would say people like that pissed him off but at some time Edward joined in and the two of them began discussing the economies of their respective places of birth. For the dragon, Ed's words were charming even if a little boring. He could tell the other two on the table didn't agree, in fact White looked like he was about to bite Ed's head off. Before he could, however, they were interrupted by an unexpected scene.

 

A short middle aged man made himself known in the middle of the tavern. He was balding but the hair he still had was far too long and spiky giving it the appeareance of horns. The guy also wore too much make up, even by Oswald's standards. In fact, he wore so much black eyeshadow it looked like someone had punched him in both sides of his face. It would probably be funny if it wasn't so pathetic. "I AM ZARDON! THE SOUL REAPER!" A few people snorted. "BOW DOWN BEFORE ME, MORTALS!" The fact that he called them mortals was almost as cute as his clothes which Oswald imagined were a bad attempt at an armor made mostly out of plastic and not even quality plastic.

 

The dragon rolled his eyes and focused on the game again. "I raise." He added a new chip.

 

"I'm out." Harvey said, much for everyone's surprise. This was the first time he chose to back off.

 

"I'm in." White said, putting a chip as well.

 

"I'm in. You aren't lying to us, are you Ozzie?" Barbara gave him an amused smirk.

 

"LISTEN UP!" The man jumped on one of the tables, causing everyone to look at him. "I WAS SENT IN HERE BY MY MASTER FOR ONE REASON AND ONE REASON ONLY!  TO SLAY A DRAGON! DON'T STAY ON MY WAY OR YOU SHALL BE PURGED TOO!"

 

Edward looked at the dragon. "Oswald," he said worriedly.

 

"Relax, Ed. People like that show up sometimes, they are normally just after attention. Ignore him and he will go away." Oswald assured his friend while focusing on his cards. 

 

"He's right. I remember this dog in my neighborhood back when I was a kid that learned that people would give him more food if he limped while begging. People gave him so much food that he died from eating too much."

 

Everyone on the table stared at Harvey in silence for a couple minutes. "What?" He asked as he noticed the stares.

 

"That's awful." Barbara huffed. "You shouldn't just say stuff like that, specially while we are eating and drinking."

 

White shook his head and stirred on his seat. "Way to kill the mood, man." 

 

Edward looked at Oswald. "Is that how it feels to be around me?"

 

"No, don't worry, Ed. You're nowhere near THAT bad." 

 

"Debatable." White said and revealed his four of a kind that beat Oswald's full house. All Barbara had were two pairs. "Well, would you look at that. I won," he turned to the smallest man and smiled. "Looks like I get to ask my question." He leaned closer.

 

Well, crap. White was big, taller than Ed. He was close to 6'3ft and his muscular built helped him look like even bigger and more intimidating. As he surrounded Oswald with his arms the dragon pressed his back against the chair even more. He was sweating and his heart was racing. This was plain out terrible.

 

"So, Oswald." The two exchanged a look. Oswald's was of a mixture of fear and anger, he wished he could slit the man's throat there and then. "Are you into guys or gals?" White's gaze was so intense he had to look away.

 

Barbara took a sip of her overly sweet strawberry and vodka based drink before replying. "I can answer that, he is definetely into guys."

 

White's smile became unhunanly large. "Really?" 

 

"W-well, there you go, back to the game." Oswald tried to push him away but Barbara shook her head. 

 

"You didn't answer the question, I did so you must answer another one. Warren, sweety, make it count." She chirped.

 

Oswald wanted to make her choke on her drink as he hissed at her. "How about this," he looked at the man on top of him, "what would someone need for you to consider giving them a chance? What is your type, Ozzie?"

 

The dragon felt the spell be cast on him by an uninterested Harvey. Great, there was no going back. He took a deep breath. "Well, for start it isn't brutes who shove themselves into people." He pushed White back, this time he fell onto his chair. "And yes, I have a preference for guys but that's not the main aspect. I'm not going to throw myself at the first handsome looking fella that shows up. I don't really care that much about gender or even species, I just want someone who appreciates me for who I am. Someone loyal and caring who wakes up next to me with a smile and a kiss. Someone smart who would never betray me. Someone to assist me in my schemes and who would always support me," he felt his cheeks start to warm up and his heart was almost bursting from his chest, "they would have to be gentle when it needs to be and rough other times. More importantly, I want someone who completes me just as much as I complete them, someone I could make happy." He allowed himself to smile slightly. "Maybe someone taller with beautiful brown eyes who can be kinda awkward around other people but also the most amazing man I have ever seen." He dared to look at Ed. Oswald was sure the human would catch his drift, he wasn't dumb after all. The dragon dared to dream that perhaps he felt the same way. Maybe he would be met with a blushing nervous mess in the shape of his best friend. Maybe Ed would be smiling at him and then they would kiss. Perhaps he would look at Oswald with disgust or disdain. Really, any option would be better than what he got.

 

Edward wasn't even paying attention at Oswald. His eyes were focused somewhere in the crowd with a mixture of curiosity and shock.

 

Oswald followed his glare but saw nothing out of the ordinary. "Ed? What is it?" He whispered.

 

Ed looked at him as if he was brought back to reality. "Oh, sorry, were you saying something?" Oswald felt his heart shatter in a million pieces. Of course.

 

"No, I just answered Warren's question. I guess we can move on to the next round." He mumbled. 

 

"Oh, alright. Listen, I have to go check on something but I will get back to you in a moment, ok?" Edward asked with an attempt at an assuring smirk.

 

Oswald sighed and leaned against his hand. "Yeah, sure, go ahead. Just don't get lost nor consume anything you don't know." 

 

Edward nodded before standing up and running off. He didn't know if his two enemies had realized what had just happened but neither commented on it and for that he was glad. He was also glad he hadn't started crying. That would have been awful.

 

Luckily the gods seemed to feel pity on him since they sent a royal flush his way. Once again, Harvey was the only one who left but this time the dragon was the winner. His previously miserable attitude was replaced with a predatory look. "Well, well, well, Barbara. Looks like I finally have you where I want." She had a completely neutral face. He couldn't wait to break it. "It's time for you to reveal once and for all," Harvey enchanted her, "under what boulder is that rat, Galavan, hiding?"

 

Barabara looked Oswald dead in the eyes, blue against blue. He had a grin on his lips that was as far from human as it could get. He didn't normally let himself break character but this was an exception. He was boiling with rage and a desire to cause harm to his enemy.

 

"I don't know." Barbara replied with a shrug. "Let's continue." She looked at Harvey.

 

Oswald's entire face dropped. "What?! What the hell do you mean by you don't know?! You aren't supposed to lie!"

 

"I am not lying, you bad excuse for a leprechaun. I don't know where  Theo Galavan is nor do I want anything to do with him."

 

"But you are his queen! His second in command!" Oswald barked at her and stood up. "You two had a case!"

 

"Oh, Ozzie, you poor ignorant fool. Yes, I slept with him a few times but I wasn't on it for Galavan, not even for myself. I was trying to save someone, someone I truly cared about. Maybe she was my best friend. Maybe we were more. I knew exactly what kind of man Galavan was and what he would do to her, and I got so close too. One more day and she would be free. We would be able to leave this wretched place forever but then you came along with your dog and took her away from me, because that's all you do, Oswald. You take and take." She had a sad smile as she spoke and even shed a tear.

 

Oswald listened to her incredulous. He blinked a couple of times before gathering enough thought to speak. Before he could though, he was interrupted by a voice behind him. "I finally found thy oh, disgusting beast of the pits of hades!" The man from before stood behind Oswald with a shortsword in hand. "You shall never terrorize the good people of this land anymore!" He charged forward whilst aiming for the dragon's heart. With annoyance, Oswald simply slapped his hand using his tail with enough strength to make him lose balance, let go of his weapon and fall. The blade spun in the air twice before falling into the odd human's chest.

 

Oswald scrounged his face. "Ok, I didn't mean to do that." He confessed to the other three who were more focused on the now dead body. The dragon looked down to see a blue smoke leaving the man's body and beginning to fill the room. "What the," he inhaled the smoke and began feeling dizzy. He swayed a little as his ears began to ring and his vision became monochrome before falling down. His last sight before passing out were the other patrons falling uncounscious.

 

**...**

  **Edward**

Edward hadn't meant to be rude earlier. That conversation and the way that man was forcing himself into Oswald were making him uncomfortable so he decided to find something else to focus on. That was when he noticed the rotting man watching them. Ed knew what a zombie was and that was definetely it. His jaw was hanging from his cheek and most of his hair had fallen off leaving only rotting green skin behind. His eyes were fully white and several teeth were missing. One of his arms rested next to his body while the other stayed in front of him as if it was hurt. He turned around and began limping away.  Was when the human decided to follow him.

 

He walked outside. It was colder than usual and the ground was covered in snow. Edward lit up a flame that flew around himself to warm his body. The creature was surprisingly fast but didn't go far. It soon stopped behind a few stones. 

 

Ed didn't understand. It hadn't attacked anyone, why was it here? He stopped behind the zombie and looked at the figure next to the creature. The man wasn't big and lacked any hair on top of his head. He wore white robes which looked far too similar to a lab coat to be mere coincidence. His eyes hid behind a pair of glasses. "Hello, Edward."

 

This man knew who he was, more importantly he was waiting for him. That meant he probably knew about Oswald being there. This was a trap.

 

The other man rose his hand to interrupt Ed's train of thought. "Fear not, I'm not your enemy. In fact, I might be your only ally in this world."

 

"Who the hell are you?" 

 

"You will find out eventually. For now what matters is that i have brought a gift."  Man removed a thick book from inside his clothes. Edward looked down at it. There wasn't a title and it wad made of leather. He opened the book and began looking through it. "School of necromancy? Why," he looked up but the man was gone with the zombie. He looked around in pure confusion before jumping at the noise coming from the tavern. An explosion. His heart accelerated and he began hyperventilating as he began running. "Oswald!" He screamed in a panic. Please, lord, let him be ok. Please, don't steal him away too.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Penguin eats fish. Shark eats penguin.


	8. Queen of hearts

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Vampires am I right?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm jealous of people who know how long their story will be. I don't know if this will have 30 chapters or more. I have an idea on how I wanna end it but that's all.

~~Chapter 8~~

**Queen of hearts**

**Oswald**  

His heard felt light as he opened his eyes slightly. At that point he couldn't understand what was going on. His heart throbbed and although he understood the words being said around him he couldn't quite grasp what they meant. It was cold and moist. Dark even. He couldn't move his hands, something was tightly keeping them together, something rough that hurt his wrists.

 

The face looking at him was one he recognized and made his heart beat faster but not for a good reason. She had short brown hair that matched very well with her warm skin tones. The woman was fierce and threatening. Imposing but also noble. He remembered fearing this woman but he also admired and respected her. Her two colored cold eyes looked deep into his and yet they didn't sit right.

 

"So?" Another woman said. Another person he could recognize. "Are you going to do it or not?" This woman had longer dark hair and an athletic body. Like the previous one she should be dead.

 

"Patience is a virtue, Tabitha," the first one said, "I need him to be a little more conscious before I can control him." Something felt different about both of them. He wasn't sure what.

 

The second one, Tabitha, crossed her arms and leaned against a rocky wall of the cave. "Sure, whatever you say. You're the queen."

 

"Well, I kinda agree with Tabby in this one." A third voice agreed, this one belonged to a child with curly brown hair. "Penguin is kinda dangerous when he wants to be, specially mad."

 

"I am aware, Selina. I was killed by him after all, however he is easily manipulated. His ego was always a weakness." She said and he finally understood what was wrong. Their eyes were a different color from the ones he remembered, a blood red instead of blue or brown. Their fangs became more prominent as well as he became more awake along with the fact he missed a shirt and that his neck was fully exposed. This was bad. The man pulled on the ropes around his wrists for no avail.

 

"Well, he seems pretty awake for me fishy." The man heard from next to him and he felt a chill run down his spine. He slowly turned to the side only to meet eyes with a had haired man with a grin the side of the world. His name he remembered very well. Jerome's face was too close to his own for his comfort how the hell had Oswald not felt his presence before? Oh, right. That was his name. Oswald. 

 

"Perhaps you may be right, boy." Fish took a step closer and squeezed Oswald's face in her hand. "He might be good enough for us to start now." Oswald tried to say something but only a bunch of guttural grunts came out.

 

"Neato. I was starting to think you would let us starve." Jerome chuckled. "That would be a very dick move." 

 

Fish ignored Jerome as she leaned in close until her face met with Oswald's neck and she bit down fiercely. The dragon tried to scream and struggle but was still too weak. His willpower wasn't strong enough and he allowed her to drink his blood. She could have drank it all if she wanted but, intead, pulled away with a face now covered in what was once running through Oswald's veins. 

 

"My turn." Tabitha said and lazily walked to the wound before putting her fangs over where Fish's was one moment before. Once again he felt his life being sucked out of him.

 

Selina, who was the only one with still normal eyes, looked at fish. "Ok, so I get that he is a good supply of food for you or whatever but why not just drink him dry and take his heart? It's not like he's more powerful or even as powerful as you are."

 

Fish turned to look at Selina. He could hear her speaking but understanding them was a whole other deal. Why were they keeping him alive? Why not get revenge after Oswald killed Fish? Why couldn't she speak louder? His ears were ringing as his heart pumped faster.

 

Jerome cracked his fingers and pushed Tabitha aside. "Now now, you don't want to dry him up," he chuckled, "we have an entire army that needs drinking." 

 

Tabitha panted and looked at Oswald up and down while licking her mouth. "He was my first meal after being brought back. Plus, I deserve it more than anyone else."

 

Jerome took his turn. The moan that escaped the clown's lips made Oswald cringe. "Hm, this is way better than animal blood. It is kinda spicy but also sweet, man I don't think I can drink anything else." He bit in a different spot from Fish makingthe dragon his in pain. This was a nightmare, it had to be. He didn't want these people to be touching him. Hell, he didn't even want them alive. Selina was a traitor and both Fish and Tabitha had enough reason to want him dead. He needed to get out of here.

 

The dragon began thrashing causing Jerome to take a step away. "No. No," he mumbled in a desperate attempt to argue. 

 

"Uh, fishy? Looks like we have a penguin too awake for our own good."" Jerome looked at the older woman.

 

"Now it is time." Fish said and cupped Oswald's eyes. At first he tried to look away but was compelled to look into her deep red eye. It was calming. The more he tried to fight the more his head hurt. Soon he was fixated into his glare. His mind grew hazier as if fog covered his brain. "Good boy. It's alright, my bird. It is time for you to go to sleep. I will take very good care of you." Her words were slow, or maybe Oswald's brain was slow when it came to registering them. He ceased to be in control over his own body.

 

Oswald had a nice dream, the type of dream he hadn't had ever since he was a boy. In his dream his mother and father were alive and well and they were both living with him and Ed. In his dream, Edward loved him back and they were fiances. Their wedding already had a set in date that wasn't too far away. There was no Fish Mooney, no Galavan nor Jim Gordon. Just them. In his dream Oswald was the emperor of Gotham which grew and was even more exuberant than before. All of his subjects adored him and he had the best life a man could strive for. The biggest fantasy of all was the thought that one day he would be accepted and, despite that, he still tried his very hardest. He was willing to lay his life if that meant being loved but being feared was a much more likely outcome.

 

In his dream, Oswald woke up every morning on a big bed. He was gritted by the smile of the most handsome man in the world and then a kiss on his lips. In his dream he would stay in bed until late cuddling with the one he loved or listening to him talk for hours, even telling his silly riddles. Sometimes they would be bolder and have activities his mother would certainly condemn, those were pretty great too. It felt like a fairy tale but fairy tales along with dreams simply aren't true.

 

When Oswald began waking up the first thing he noticed was the he was no longer cold but rather warm. He was sleeping on a bed with a very different smell he was used to. This one smelled too much like the sea. He was wearing robes which covered most of his body. His first thought upon opening his eyes was touching his neck which he immediately regretted. It was throbbing and aching like crazy, his shoulder too. He had too many bite marks to even count. His next thought was to check his pulse, although it was unnecessary. He could hear his own heart beating in his ears, good. He hadn't turned.

 

Oswald began standing up and crap, his leg hurt more than usual. Using the white walls as support, he walked outside. There he was. The asshole himself, Warren White sitting on his arm chair drinking a bottle of ale as he admired the big fish swimming around in his aquarium. The dragon took his chance and silently walked behind the other before pressing a claw to his neck. "What the hell did you do to me?!"

 

Even from where he was he could tell the bald man was smiling. "Ozzie," he said in a dangerous purr, "I saved you. I must say, I didn't expect the king of the North to appear in my doorstep after being gone for a week." A week? Goodness, what had happened to Edward? He hoped to the gods he was ok but didn't let his worries be transparent. His tone was angry. "And don't worry. I didn't touch your tender flesh as much as I wanted to." He brought the bottle to his lips.

 

Oswald relaxed a little. "And how the hell should I believe you?" He squinted at the man and pressed his claw more against his neck.

 

"Because if I had gotten my ways with you, you wouldn't be walking right now," White said proudly. Oswald mentally rolled his eyes. 

 

"So you didn't see who brought me here?" Oswald asked more sternly, a neutral tone.

 

"Nope. I just took my chance to watch you sleep and hope you would be thankful enough to reward me. By the way, there is food in the kitchen."

 

Just as those words entered his ears, Oswald's stomach rumbled and he rushed to the kitchen. There was a lot of meat, specially fish and he couldn't be more thankful as he began eating far too savagely for his own taste but the dragon was starving. He felt an arm over his shoulders and stiffened before hissing at the tall man.

 

"Easy there mister snake. I'm just curious. Can you tell an old pal what is going on?" Despite his flirtatious grin, White did sound concerned and he would be a strong ally if he had to fight an undead army of his worst enemies. 

 

"Vampires. Lots of them and both Fish and Tabitha are with them too. But even worse, someone actually brought Jerome Valeska back to life, seriously does nobody stay dead in this place?"

 

"Cut off the heads and burn the bodies. That is the only way to be sure." shrugged and ran a hand through Oswald's hair without touching his horns. The dragon ducked to escape his hands as he continued his mouthful of food rant.

 

"Well, I think I'll adopt your philosophy from now on. They desecrated my neck for gods sake. Bastards. Well, I should go back home soon."

 

"Right, your mutt has been alone for too long. Seriously, what the hell did you see in him? He is as bad as Dent." White rose an eyebrow.

 

Oswald felt his face warm up a little. "I have no idea what you are talking about. Edward is my best friend, partner and soon to be chief wizard. That is all. I'm not as low as you and your romantic obsessions."

 

"I wouldn't call it an obsession. You were the one who just showed up on my place." White leaned against a wall and watched Oswald pace with an amused expression.

 

"Well, you may have a point. I will need to fight back." Oswald said and took a bite of an apple. "I need an army, luckily 70% of Gotham are human and humans despise vampires. It shouldn't be too difficult to incite an angry mob, I just need to find out where they are hiding and even the guard would be forced to help."

 

"What about the Wayne kid? Isn't he a vampire lord, ruler of all bloodsuckers in Gotham?"

 

Oswald stopped and hesitated. "Well, yes, but he knows there needs to be balance and there is a limit to how many vampires are allowed in Gotham. Plus, he hates Jerome and Tabitha so he should come around." Oswald looked at Warren who was smiling happily. "What?" 

 

"You look hot when you are plotting to kill people. If you want I could send some extra ears around Gotham, but that will cost you a favor." White offeres.

 

Oswald considered warily. "Nothing inappropriate."

 

White gasped dramatically. "Ozzie, please. I am a true gentleman. I would never do anything you didn't beg me to first. You are  free to refuse"

 

"Right. Well, fine." Oswald said begrudgingly. At least he knew Warren was loyal even if a psychotic asshole. "You have a deal. Now move, I have a tower to return to."

 

**...**

 

In all of his years Oswald had seen and experienced many things that could be deemed unexpected but opening the door to his house to be gritted by a flock of zombie chickens was by far one of the weirdest ones.

 

He looked at the chickens who looked back at him, well, the ones that had eyes did anyways. He was so flabbergasted by the sight that he couldn't do much but enter a stare contest with the undead animals. Had his house been raided by fucking zombie birds that couldn't fly?

 

"Who is there?!" Oswald heard the shouting coming from upstairs which actually snapped him back to reality. He couldn't help but smile slightly. His heart fluttered until he remembered how Ed had dismissed him in the tavern and his grin died. "I know that a robber wouldn't respond, but if they do respond that means they aren't a robber! Or an assassin!" It sounded like Edward was talking to someone else but he only heard one voice. Oswald winced as he heard the sound of something crashing followed by a curse. "Fuck!" Edward shouted as he came into view. The human was well but was wearing different clothes Oswald didn't recognize, a black robe that reminded the dragon of a bathrobe more than anything else. "Oswald." The man said with a gasp and smiled widely. "Oswald, is- is this really you? Oh God." Edward quickly made his way downstairs but ended up slipping on his own clothes. Before he could get hurt, the dragon quickly flew to his rescue and held him by the waist. 

 

Oswald chuckled and shrugged. "It is me. Good to see you haven't changed either, old friend. Now, mind explaining the chickens?"

**...**

Oswald and Edward spent the next few hours telling the other what they had been doing. Edward told him how he had received a book on necromancy, much for the dragon's dismay. Necromancy was a disgusting and highly illegal practice, even among criminals. It was one of the few things pretty much everyone in Gotham agreed on. A part of him wanted to try to convince Ed to try literally anything else but he seemed so happy. He would talk to him later.

 

In the following weeks, Edward took care of his lair and sent the servants away. In his spare time he would either try to find Oswald or practice. At some point the two became the same thing. "This is such a practical thing! Why didn't you tell me about it before? I have eyes and ears all around Gotham!" Edward chirped happily and proceeded to tell Oswald how he had been looking for dead critters and animals, specially pigeons.

 

Oswald didn't reply. Once Ed was finished he proceeded to tell his little misfortune involving vampires. 

 

"Vampires?" Edward asked with a touch of surprise. "Huh." He looked at his feet. They were both seated at Oswald's bed. "I mean, it's not that I didn't expected vampires, I just didn't think they would want anything to with you?"

 

"Well, do you remember my old boss? Fish Mooney? The one I told you about? Well, she is back from the dead and very pissed." Edward let out an 'ah' as he began understanding, "and, you'll hate this, so is our dear enemy Tabitha Galavan." Edward's eyes went wide as he started to panic.

 

"You can't be serious, n-no, this can't be happening!" Edward shouted and jumped up. "You must be mistaken." He had grown considerably paler in a matter of seconds and Oswald could smell his sweat.

 

"Trust me, I know the woman who stabbed my mother, but don't worry. I don't think you're their target. They could have killed you while I was gone." Oswald said in a calm tone.

 

It didn't help. Edward started to pace quickly blabbering to himself while moving his hands frantically. The dragon couldn't really understand what he was saying. His words weren't aimed at him. 

 

Oswald sighed. "Edward!" He shouted as loudly as he could and it came out like a roar.

 

The human jumped and looked at him. "W-what?!" He shouted back. 

 

Oswald stood up and gently cupped his cheeks so that the other would look deep into his eyes with his brown ones. Ed put his hands over Oswald's. They were cold. "Listen to me. I won't let anything happen to you. You're my best friend and the person I care the most about in the whole world."

 

Edward looked down. "But," he started but was interrupted by Oswald squeezing his cheeks a bit more and pulling his face closer to his. Their noses were one inch away from touching. 

 

"I'm sorry that I didn't trust you before, but I'm asking that you trust me. I have dealt with these people and it is after me they are after. Not you." Edward looked from Oswald's eyes to his shoulder before pulling his shirt enough to reveal his shouder. The marks were still there and they looked awful. Oswald was confident they would leave a scar.

 

Much for his surprise, boney pale fingers brushed over it causing Oswald to shiver and his heart to flutter. "Edward." He said softly while looking at his feet. 

 

"They really hurt you, didn't them? I'm sorry, Oswald. I'm being selfish. You must be scared too, I wish I was as brave as you." The tenderness in his voice made the dragon's heart beat fast enough for his ears to ring.

 

Oswald pulled away and adjusted his clothes. He still didn't look the other in the eyes. "You are forgiven, however I will need your assistance to find them."

 

Edward nodded and adjusted his glasses. "Well, do you have Galavan is involved? I mean his sister is so that wouldn't be too farfetched."

 

Oswald considered it for a moment. "Yeah, I suppose so. Why?"

 

"Well, I know exactly where he is hiding. We could kill two birds and also get you your revenge."

 

Edward was so thoughtful. "Yeah, I certainly like that idea. Lead the way my green friend."

 

**...**

**Edward**

This was the first time Edward went to the south part of Gotham in person. While most less conventional and dangerous species inhabited the wild North, humans had entire cities in the south and they were much more than he had expected. Surely there were no cars but the houses weren't made solemnly of wood but rather of a white stone. The streets were made of actual concreet and there were structures similar to lightposts but that used magic as its source. The streets were quite busy specially since it was late noon still. They did gain a few glares, specially Oswald who seemed to not care. "Is it far?" The dragon asked. Ed could tell he was tired of walking, he was leaning on his cane more than usual.

 

"Almost. Turn left." Oswald grumbled something and continued to follow Ed along with three of his chickens. He would never say it out loud but the dragon could be quite adorable at times. He could definetely see why Selina had called him a penguin, well, besides the obvious.

 

Oswald seemed to take notice of his glare and arched an eyebrow. "Why are you grinning at me like that?"

 

"Oh? Am I? My apologies. I suppose I'm just happy. I was afraid I wouldn't find you in time. I was really worried I wouldn't get to see you again." Edward admitted. Oswald must be annoyed by it since he immediately looked away from Edward at a random house. Edward looked ahead. "I shouldn't have left you like that, specially after everything you have done," 

 

"Why did you get rid of the servants?" Oswald interrupted him. Edward considered it for a moment.

 

"I don't like being around people and I certainly didn't trust them." Edward had always had a hard time making friends. People didn't like him so he didn't like them either, plus he didn't like depending on strangers. 

 

Oswald didn't say anything which slightly worried Edward. Was that really so weird? He shook his head and stopped in front of the house which wasn't different from the others. The roof was made of black tiles that were similar to the ones in Oswald's place. The walls were white and bright even with all the fog of the kingdom. Ed did notice an odd and yet familiar smell. He couldn't quite put hus finger on it, however. "We're here."

 

Oswald nodded. "So, how are we going to go in?" He asked and looked around.

 

"Well, that is why I brought them!" Edward replied and pointed at his chickens. Oswald looked unimpressedbut he didn't care. The man looked around and scanned the place until he found a small opening on the second floor. "There!" He pointed at it. "Go forth my minions," he demanded and looked at Oswald with a grin, "I've always wanted to say that."

 

He could feel the dragon's judgemental stare on his skin but didn't care. The creatures were surprisingly agile, specially for chickens. They jumped on a fence then they flew to a roof, went as high as they could before gliding to the actual's house roof. 

 

"That was quite impressive actually." Oswald admitted after watching them. Edward looked at him and smiled proudly before adjusting his sleeves. "Why, thank you. Give them a moment and they will get the door open."

 

"Oswald!" Oswald heard his name being shouted and became tense. 

 

"We may not have a moment." They both turned to look at the source of noise at the same time and of course it was the paragon himself, Jim Gordon. "I'll take care of him. Get the door open." He said and approached Jim.

 

Edward watched their exchange rather anxiously. Jim looked at Ed and then back at Oswald. "I thought I made it clear that if you two came here I would have to arrest you."

 

"Did you now?" Oswald said with sass and scoffed. "Well, maybe we wouldn't have had to come here if the guard would do their damn job instead of screwing with their clerics!" He hissed out before showing the other his neck. "You sed this?"

 

"Vampires?" Jim asked while looking at the still healing wounds. Edward had treated them but it still looked ugly.

 

"Yeah! Not any vampires, newly resuscitated vampires who include Tabitha Galavan, Fish Mooney and you and your adopted pseudo son's favorite person, Jerome Valeska in the flesh!"

 

Jim narrowed his eyes and gritted his teeth. "That is not possible. There are no necromancers left in Gotham."

 

"Well, there has to be at least one unless dear old Bruce has been working on that black magic himself."

 

"Bruce would never do that." Jim was clearly offended by that and placed his hand over the pomel of his sword. He took a step forward to try and intimidate the smaller of the two.

 

It didn't work. Oswald took a step closer as well. The two stared at eachother's eyes intensely before he spoke. "Well, in that case I suggest that you get to the bottom of this before other people start to question the integrity of the Wayne boy and his kind."

 

Jim slowly relaxed and put his hand away. Edward didn't realize he had been holding his breath. "I'll go talk to you in your place later." And, with that, he left.

 

Oswald watched the human go with sharp eyes before being interrupted by a click. He turned around and looked at Ed who was looking at the now open door. "Oh, thank God. Alright, let's get in."

 

Edward was the first one inside. He used his magic to create a small flame to illuminate the place. It was surprisingly dusty and dark. It didn't seem very lived in.

 

"There is a body here." Oswald said much for Ed's surprise and took the lead. The house was much simpler than the mansion Galavan used to own. It didn't have statues, rugs or paintings. It didn't even have a table. The place was empty. So was the kitchen. Not a trace of food could be found and spider webs were the only decoration. Oswald pulled out a handkerchief from his front pocket and used it to cover his nose. "Are you positive this is the place?"

 

Ed bit his thumb worriedly. "Let's check upstairs." 

 

 _'We screwed up, Ed. This is probably a trap. Let me take over before you get hurt.'_ Edward shook his head and climbed the stairs. The smell became stronger. Maybe Oswald was right. Maybe Theo found out and left. He walked to a partially open door and pushed it more. It squeaked open. 

 

Inside was a lot different than the rest of the house. There was gold, now molyen along with partially destroyed clothes and a mattress. On the matress was a completely charred body. Oswald walked towards it and looked at his hands. His eyes grew wide with surprise. "This is Theo Galavan." He showed Ed the red ring with a G in it. "Someone got to him before we did."

 

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's a funny little story. My first watched Gotham in 2016 when the show started but I didn't really like it so I dropped. One day while I was in a plane flying back home I saw that Gotham was one of the shows available and decided to give it a try. I watched the six first episodes of season three there and I immediately fell in love. As soon as I got home I finished watching season 3, watched the entirety of season four and then went back to watch seasons 1 and 2. From the very first episode that I watched I fell in love with Oswald's character and he has been my favorite ever since. I always thought he was more of a Chihuahua than a penguin though. Might be just me.


	9. Riddle me this

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Riddle me this  
> Everything it gives you, it takes away leaving only a heart's break.

~~Chapter 9~~

**Riddle me this**

 

**Oswald**

 

Carrying a dead man's body proved to be considerably more challenging than Oswald had expected but alas they managed. The two criminals had decided that it would be better to work in an environment where they couldn't be interrupted by the likes of the holy guard so they carried the corpse of Oswald's enemy back to the tower and put him into one of the many empty rooms.

 

"Are you sure you can do this?" Oswald asked the other man as he scanned the black book with his eyes one more time. Why was the dragon going along with this insanity and letting him bring back the man who had been responsible for his mother's death was beyond him. Stupid feelings.

 

"Yes," the taller male closed the book dramatically and smiled, "I am." Edward lifted his hands and closed his eyes before he began in a low voice. Even if Oswald could hear him he doubted he would understand what those words meant. The room grew colder and the dragon was filled with dread. It was as if even the air grew heavier as a protest against their actions. He was about to say something regarding it when Ed shouted a last word, making the shorter jump back.

 

"What the hell?!" Oswald grabbed his shirt, "you nearly gave me a hearattack!"

 

"Shut up and look!" Edward said with the excitement of a child causing Oswald to begrudgingly obey. For his surprise the body was actually moving. That was impressive on his own but if Ed had really managed to bring him back to life with his full mental capabilities and without making him a vampire that would make him perhaps the greatest necromancer the world had ever seen, and even that wasn't great enough to remove the smell that made Oswald both sick and hungry.

 

The body began to move and groan before slowly sitting up. The flesh was slowly replaced in strands like a spider's web and the dragon couldn't do much but watch in awe. And then the corpse started to speak. "W-what?" It grumbled almost inaudibly.

 

"Yes!" Edward clapped and threw his hands over his head in celebration. He had done the impossible it seemed. Even Oswald was beyond impressed. This would open up so many possibilities, or it would have if it had succeeded.

 

"No, no, stop! Go away!" Galavan shouted and started to convulse.

 

"Uh, is that supposed to happen?" Oswald asked as he looked at Ed. His smile had disappeared.

 

"No, it should not." Edward turned around to grab the book but, as Galavan began bashing his head against the floor, gave up and instead rushed to their patient. The dragon noticed the irregular movement in the corpse's torso as if something was crawling inside of him and decided he was not letting his best friend anywhere near that thing.

 

The dragon grabbed the human's wrist and pulled him close. "Edward, no!" He shouted just as Galavan began screaming. They both turned to look at the body and the next thing Oswald knew were partially rotten but mostly burnt pieces of dead flesh flying all over the room as their failed experience exploded on them. 

 

The dragon slowly reached for his hand and wiped some bodily fluids mixed with dead meat from his eyes and cheeks. He looked at it and couldn't contain his gagging reflexes as he turned to the side and coughed.

 

"N-no." Edward said shakily. His glasses were completely covered in blood and guts. Cringing, the dragon gently pulled them off and wiped them for the human as much as he could before putting them back. He slightly regretted it since his chocolate brown eyes were absolutely devasted. "But- Why? Why can't I do anything right?"

 

"Edward," Oswald said softly and put a hand on his shoulder which led to the other pulling away immediately.

 

"Don't touch me!" Edward shouted with tears in his eyes. "Just scream at me and kick me out! Can't you see I failed you?"

 

"Ed, you didn't fail me-," Oswald tried to contest.

 

"Yes I did! I came to this world to start over, to become someone and yet I still can't do it! I sucked in my world, I still suck here!" The man began laughing and crying at the same time, "how stupid could I be to think I could become someone? The problem was never the world, it was always me, me, me and me!" He grabbed the book and threw it against the wall before tugging his hair. "They were right, they were ALWAYS right! I'm useless, creep Ed who nobody likes!"

 

"That isn't true, I like you, Ed. This was just a mistake. We can think of something else!"

 

"You don't know me, Oswald! If you did you would have kicked me out too. I'm rotten, I'm wicked, I'm worse than a monster because at least monsters are good at being bad. Me? I'm a failure at everything! Not good, not even bad, just wrong! Always wrong!"

 

It broke Oswald's heart seeing Edward like this."Magic is hard, Ed! If you just train!"

 

"Stop."

 

"I know you can do this. I will be here for you, I believe in you, remember? I've always believed in you." Oswald tried to cup his cheek but was stopped by a tight hand around his wrist.

 

"I said stop! I am not the person you think I am, Oswald. Please, just leave before you hate me too." The man begged.

 

"Edward, I don't know what type of person you think you are but I know the real you. You're a passionate and intelligent person who may be a little weird but is also very charming. You're dedicated to what you love and you can be extremely kind and caring when you want to. You are constantly trying to make people smile with your riddles and for those reasons and so many other that I-"

 

"I have MPD," Edward cut Oswald and looked deep into his eyes with shame filled ones. He noticed Oswald didn't know what that was. "Multiple personalities disorder. I am also schizophrenic. You know how kids make imaginary friends growing up and eventually grow over them? Well, I never did. Instead, I made it more and more real into my mind to the point that this 'friend' in my head could actually take control over my body." The dragon was silent. "I used to take pills as a teenager to be stable but ever since I began living by myself I stopped taking them. You know why? Because I felt lonely and the only person who ever wanted to be my friend," he pointed at his head, "was the one I made up."

 

Oswald looked up at him. "Ed, that's ok." He said gently.

 

"What?"

 

"That's fine. I mean, I always imagined you had something like that. I heard you speaking to yourself when you thought you were alone and even answering as if in an actual conversation and that's fine. We can go back to your universe," Oswald smiled and Edward shook his head, "we can take those pills and you can have them again. I promise you'll never feel alone again, Edward. If you really thought I would leave you for something this simple than you're really underestimating me and our friendship." 

 

Oswald tried to cup his cheek again. This time Edward let him and even leaned to the touch. It was short lived however. "No!" Edward snapped and let go of Oswald's wrist to put both of his hands around his neck. The taller man gritted his teeth before pushing the smaller one against the wall. He squeezed his neck more making it impossible for the dragon to breathe. Oswald tried to struggled but, as it turned out, in this form Ed was considerably stronger than him. "You don't get it, do you? I destroy everything I touch, Oswald! That's just who I am! You are the type of person that only destroys so that you can rebuild later. Me? I'm a black hole. I just consume without ever being able to produce," he shook his head, "I envy you, Oswald. You loved your mother so much you were willing to go so far to avenge her. Me? I am such an awful person I murdered my own father."

 

Oswald struggled to look at him with a partially open eye. He was afraid, he couldn't deny that. His ears were drumming and his vision was becoming hazy. Was this really how he would die?

 

"Speechless, huh?" Edward chuckled. "You're actually the first person I confess that to. He was a real piece of shit but you wanna know a secret? I still loved him. For the 90% of the time he treated me like garbage there was a 10% where he actually took care of me. He taught me how to swim and how to pick a lock. Great things to teach a ten years old, I know." Ed chuckled again before frowning. "Oswald? Are you listening to me?" No, he wasn't. He could tell there was someone talking but he could no longer recognize the voice. "Shit!" Edward looked down to his hands as he finally realized what he was doing and let go of him. The dragon dropped to the ground and coughed while rubbing his now red neck. "Oswald, I-I am so sorry, I got so caught up talking I didn't realize what I was doing."

 

Ed tried to pull Oswald up but the dragon just slapped his hands. "No!" Oswald coughed out with a raspy voice, "get away from me, freak!" He was shaking a little and pressed against the wall as much as he could.

 

If Ed looked devastated before he was completely obliterated after hearing that. The man stood up straight and looked at his feet. "I understand. Really. I will grab my things and leave immediately." He turned in his heels and ran out of the room. 

 

Oswald stayed there for a while as he tried to relax. Needless to say, he regretted the words that had come out of his mouth the moment they did. Why had he said it? Ed needed his help not well, whatever that had been. As soon as he felt like he could walk, the man stood up and ran after his friend. The dragon heard shuffling coming from inside the other's room and took a deep breath before knocking. He hadn't realized the door was open. The knocking pushed it enough to reveal Ed simply standing in front of a mirror while wearing a hat.

 

Oswald took a deep breath and swallowed his fear before walking inside. "Edward, I," two pairs of hands quickly grabbed Oswald's forearms and pushed him forward. He looked at them in shock to see they belonged to two mindless zombies.

 

"Apologies, Oswald," the human said in a surprisingly emotionless voice, "but Ed isn't with us right now." He turned around and smiled widely and panic began setting in. Those eyes were too cold and pragmatic. They were insensitive and uncaring. This wasn't his Edward.

 

**...**

**The other**

  _What is hard to find, easy to lose, worth more than gold and cheaper than a penny?_

_A friend, of course!_

 

He remembered the days when Edward was still a boy. He would always laugh and smile at his riddles and that was all that the other wanted. Ed had always been a sweet, if only a little odd kid. Even if the other kids didn't want to play with him he still somehow found a reason to smile. He always admired that. As time progressed, however, his smile began faltering and, by his teenage years his face would generally stay in the same indifferent state. The other didn't know why he still existed by then. The boy seemed to be constantly bothered by his presence and that only cause his dad to be even angrier. There were days they would hate eachother, times when they felt mutual disdain and moments when they remembered how important they were to one another. The Other was always there to protect Ed, be it from others or from himself. The Other remembered everything, every moment of the boy's life every since he was four years old but made sure to only let through what wouldn't hurt him too much. Of course, it wasn't a perfect job. He couldn't erase everything otherwise the boy would never grow up but there was also so many moments of pain.

 

At some point the Other began hating the world along the way. It wasn't like anyone had ever proven to be important. All they did was take, why should he care about who lived or died? Why should he hold the door for strangers or ask how someone's day had been? It wasn't like he cared. Politeness? Please. That was useless as the people who asked for it. It was a dog eat dog world and after three months Oswald's time had finally come.

 

The other pulled out a blade and pressed the tip against his index finger while menacingly walking towards the dragon. "Oswald Cobblepot. You know, while you and Edward were playing your buddy buddy game I was studying you. How you think, how you act. You are an interesting man, I'll give you that but in the end of the day, you had a mortal weakness." He stopped right in front of the shorter male. The Other used his blade to draw a cross over the dragon's chest, ripping his clothes and skin enough to draw some blood and making him wince in the process. He could tell he was afraid. His eyes were slit as they always became whenever he felt threatened. Good.

 

"Let go of me, Edward!" Oswald barked and tried to pull and kick at his undead. Ed was too afraid to summon them before but he was not. He knew what he was doing and he knew where the other had failed.

 

The Other shook his head and blade slowly without ever letting the grin falter. "Ah, Oswald, Oswald, Oswald. One, I know you can't shift into your other form while being held like this and I know you need a short charging time to use your magic. By the time you even think about doing it my blade will be burried deep into your heart."

 

"Why?" Oswald asked with teary eyes. "I have given you everything! Please, Ed, listen to me! I forgive you! I forgive everything! "

 

"Sorry, Oswald. It's nothing personal. You just outgrew your usefulness. Edward and I already know enough about the world to be on our own and it's more practical to kill you, steal your treasure and take your heart. Now that Ed won't miss you either, well, there's really no reason to keep you alive."

 

Oswald's breathing was hitched and he was looking around for ways to escape while still struggling. Poor man. Always deceived by those closest to him. It would be pitiful if it wasn't so hilarious. The Other had never expected anyone to actually be stupid enough to grow attached to them, not that the dragon was stupid of course. Just desperate. He had just lost his mother and had an inherent soft heart who had fallen for Ed's boyish smile.

 

"Please, Ed! I-I love you! Please, you can't do this to me!" Oswald pleaded while the tears rolled down. God, this was hilarious!

 

The Other laughed. "I know! I mean, it was pretty obvious even if pathetic Ed couldn't see it! This also what I'm telling you, Oswald. Your feelings make you an easy prey. Your heart was always going to be your downfall! I'm just glad to be the first one to take it!" He gripped the dragon's hair and pulled his head back forcefully to reveal his neck. His normally blue eyes were partially red from all the crying and his freckles had disappeared amid all the tears. "Maybe you'll be more careful in your last life, but in this life this dog won!" He hissed before bringing the knife down.

 

Oswald shouted a "No!" before closing his eyes. He was shaking under Ed's grip and had probably given up on any chances of surviving. His life was his to take. So easy. So simple. He had done this many times before. 

 

So why did the blade stop just as it was about to hit his neck?

 

The Other blinked a few times before trying again, this time adding more strength. His hand stopped an inch away from his throat. He tried again and again, first in his chest and then his stomach but no matter how hard he tried the blade refuse to burry into the other's flesh. "How the hell are you doing this?!" 

 

Oswald opened an eye and looked at him. "D-doing what?" The Other could tell he was as confused as he was.

 

"This!" He tried to stab Oswald in the eye and, once again failed. "I can't kill you!"

 

"Oh?" Oswald seemed to relax profoundly at the knowledge only making the other further frustrated.

 

"Don't 'oh' me! What kind of sorcery is that?! You shouldn't have this type of magic!" No magic was being used, however. Was Ed doing it? No, he was still asleep within their shared mind so what in the world was happening?!

 

"I don't know, but if I am doing something I will be certain to learn how to control it!" Oswald smiled and even his eyes relaxed.

 

The other's grip on his hair hardened causing him to shriek. "Don't test my patience! This is the clearly logical solution! Nobody would miss you!" He pulled his face closer so that their noses were less than an inch away from touching. "So why?"

 

"I- I don't know. Perhaps it's for the same reason you haven't killed me so far. I mean, I agree with most of what you said. This is a dog eat dog world and you would probably be better off without me since I do have an inconvenient amount of enemies." Oswald said with the edge of his lips still curled into a grin.

 

"Why are you agreeing to me and why the hell are you smiling?! Are you insane?" 

 

"Maybe!" Oswald chuckled. "But I just feel happy! All logic says that you should kill me right now but you can't, Edward Nygma or whatever your name is! For some reason that even I am having a hard time understanding that makes me the happiest I've been in a very, very long time!"

 

The Other was all about logic and the best approach. He was the most intelligent man in his world and had yet to meet someone who surpassed him in this one. He could make ridiculously complicated calculations in less than a second only just his mind. More importantly, he was cold and had come to the conclusion the only person worth carrying about were themselves, everyone else was just a stepping stone and yet seeing that little man smile so widely, not for Ed but for him, made his heart beat faster and his cold body feel warm. What in the world was happening to him?

 

The Other stared deep into Oswald's eyes for a moment too long. Had they always been so deep? Had his lips always seemed this soft? For once in his existence, the Other acted impulsively. He hadn't calculated the best route or the consequences of his actions but for some reason beyond his comprehension he leaned in forward enough to press his lips against Oswald's. At first the shorter didn't react, likely due to surprise and confusion but much for the Other's delight he soon relaxed into the kiss and kissed back while closing his eyes.

 

The Other dropped his knife and put his arm around the other's waist while his hand went from gripping his hair to resting within the black locks. The zombies let go of Oswald's arms which, instead of pushing away, wrapped around his neck. Oswald tasted of blood mostly but at that point he didn't care. He was lost into the other's mouth and warmth as he explored with a curious tongue and sucked all of his air.

 

He would have stayed like that for longer, perhaps forever but much for his annoyance there was a knock on the door. A very persistent knock on the fucking door. Oswald was the one who pulled away first. They both panted and stared into eachother's eyes. The Other tried to decipher Oswald's expression but he simply couldn't.

 

Without saying a word, Oswald adjusted his clothes and hair as much as he could before going off to answer the door. The Other followed.

 

Behind the door was none other than a very mad Selina and the boy he had met before hidden under a parasol, Bruce Wayne. "We need to talk." Selina said.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The Other= the Riddler but before he had his name. I personally always like the concept that the Riddler was in love with Oswald but Ed was not at least at first. Maybe it's just me, maybe I am weird. Maybe I just watched Split too much or maybe I should worry about the fact that I will protect the Norman from Bates Motel with my life because he did nothing wrong, all of his kills were justified. Maybe someone should send help.
> 
> Anyways, please do comment it is the best way for me to know whether people are still reading this or if I am writing it for myself at this point.


	10. Cigarette buds

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oswald faces the past, gets depressed and Other Ed tries to cheer the guy but he is definitely 100% NOT IN LOVE. It's just hormones, guys. I swear.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This would be equivalent to episode 3x01- 3x02 I believe. Here's a fun fact: I watched the first episode of Gotham back when it came out but didn't really like it all that much. Last year during a flight, however, they offered the six first epidodes of season 3 and, since I had nothing better to do I decided to give it a watch. Long story short, I loved it. I watched the rest of the season and then season four, the episodes that were already out anyways, before going back to watch the two first ones. I still think season one is the weakest and that the show grew better with the seasons with the peak being season four but I regret not getting intobit sooner.

~~Chapter 10~~

**Cigarette Buds**

 

**Oswald**

 

Ok, what the hell had just happened? First Ed strangled him than he tried to stab him and then he fucking kissed the dragon. And not just a kindergarten kiss, it was fucking hot as hell! Oswald was beyond confused. Yeah, he got that was Ed's other personality but Come on! But the thing he was more ashamed of was the fact that he was beyond mad after being interrupted. Selina seemed to have a similar sentiment as she wore a pout and sharp eyes which practically screamed murder. That reminded him of his youthful days when life was easier and all about getting water in the nearest pond. 

 

Gods, he missed his mother. "Well? What are you waiting for? A goddamn invitation?! You're here to talk then talk, child!"

 

Selina, who had been wearing tight leather clothes the same color as Oswald's, black, and weird goggles which she was wearing as a tiara spoke up. Well, more than speak up. She took a step forward and actually slapped him, seriously, what was it with people attacking him today? "What the hell were you thinking?! You told Gordon about Fish! You have any idea what you did you asshole!"

 

Oswald took a step back after the hit, not because it had been particularly strong but out of shock. Luckily, Ed or whoever was there to interject. He put an arm in front of the dragon. "Selina, stop!"

 

"No, I will not! He wasn't even supposed to remember anything and now, thanks to him Jim is about to kill every last one of them!" The girl shouted.

 

"They kidnapped me!" Oswald replied just as angrily. His face was red and he was shaking a little.

 

"She saved you!" Selina threw back and this time Oswald went quiet. The girl had her fists clenched to the point where her knuckles turned white. Bruce probably noticed that too since he put a hand on her shoulder and spoke up.in a much calmer voice. 

 

"Selina is telling the truth. Theo Galavan was the one who sent an attack at Freeze's place and he was going to kill you but Fish rescued you first." Bruce said calmly. "I know that because he attempted to do the same to me but I was prepared."

 

Oswald blinked in disbelief. "Wait, what? She- she saved me? But why?" He had been the one to kill her.

 

Selina shrugged. "She said you were more useful alive. And before you ask, no, we were not there for you but after the man who brought her and the others back. A necromancer or whatever." Her tone had grown softer but the older male noticed how Ed tensed at her words.

 

Oswald didn't know what to believe. "Well, I never told Jim where she was."

 

"No," Bruce interjected, "but Ivy knew. I found her a few days back in a river. It was a miracle that she was alive. She didn't remember much but Jim helped her recover her memories thanks to what you said. Bullock didn't want to wait so he went there by himself. Now they are keeping him hostage and Jim is desperate to rescue him. It's a mess." The boy sighed.

 

Ed looked at Oswald who didn't know what to do. Selina grabbed his wrist and pulled the dragon to the door. "You're coming with us and undoing it."

 

Oswald pulled his hand. "I'm not taking any chances." He sprung his wings. "I sent Fish to the grave and that's where she's staying." He walked towards the door.

 

"She saved your ass!" Selina shouted and tried to stop him but Oswald dodged her. 

 

"And used me as a meal and you watched, little witch!" Oswald hissed. "She isn't nice. She never was and she always comes back to collect her debts and I am confident she believes I owe her."

 

"I'm coming with you." Edward quickly strolled to the other's side as he got out. Oswald turned into his other form and took off. 

 

He could only hear Selina screaming in the distance. "Bastard!"

 

**...**

 

**Other**

 

He wasn't in love with Oswald. That was absurd. Preposterous. No, it was obvious what was going on. This wasn't love, love was irrational and only afflicted those with lower mental powers. This was simply desire. Oswald had been the first person who had slept naked next to them who wasn't of Ed's interest therefore it sparked his. Every time Oswald smiled at Ed lovingly or made the Other's job easier that desire only grew but that was all this was. Lust. No feelings, just hormones and chemical reactions in his brain making him attracted to the smaller definitely not bad looking creature. Lust, not love. Love wasn't real. That realization helped him relax and enjoy the view. Night had just fallen and a beautiful star filled sky followed them in their journey soaring through the sky. He had to admit, once you grew used to it flying was amazing. The breeze on his face, the wind on his hair and the sense of freedom were simply breathtaking. He just wished his partner wasn't so moody. For good reasons, yes, but still moody. The dragon was silent  and tense which was never a good sign. He thought about saying something but felt like things were pretty awkard between them. He also didn't want to swallow a bug.

 

Soon enough the castle where vampires and paladins thought came into view. It was clear that Jim had grown tired of waiting and decided to just make his way inside. Without any warning, a tail gently dropped around Edward and put him down. "Wait, what are you doing?!" The other asked and looked at Oswald.

 

"Sorry, Ed," he said into his mind, "but I have to do this alone." He said before disappearing into the darkness. 

 

The Other tried to scream for him to wait and come back but for no avail. He threw his hat on the grass and cursed. The human was still two good football fields from where the battle was and even further from the castle. Why did Oswald bring him if he would just abandon him later? Well, Oswald wasn't exactly a very logical person most of the time, he probably hadn't thought that far ahead.

 

Defeated, the Other sat against a tree and watched the battle in the distance. He closed his eyes and felt for any corpses nearby. Surprisingly, he actually found human ones. He decided to reanimate them and help in any way he could. He crouched next to the closest body and pricked his thumb on a sharp rock before drawing a simbol over the man's chest. Stupid, sexy Oswald.

 

"Get up." The other's eyes went wide and a chill ran down his spine as felt a sharp object being pressed against his back. Slowly, Ed stood up and turned around with his hands in the air. His agressor was none other than the woman he had killed, Tabitha Galavan. Fuck. Her eyes were cold and predatory but recognized an anger deep within them. She was out for blood. His blood.

 

"Tabitha Galavan." The Other would have to talk his way out of this one. No magic, his gun was out of bullets and he wasn't expecting a gun. He put a confident smile on his face despite being anything but. "I am glad to see you're here."

 

"Oh?" The woman scoffed with disdain. Her claws were out and as sharp as a blade. "You do realize I'm gonna kill you, right?" 

 

"I do know that was your intention when arriving here but I know you won't." The Other crossed his arms around his back calmly.

 

"Oh?" She asked half amused. "Why would I do that?"

 

Good, she was buying it. "Because you don't need me dead. You are just doing this for revenge. If you needed me dead I would already be."

 

"No shit Sherlock!" Tabitha retorted. "You killed me in cold blood!"

 

"Yes, I did! But now you're back." Edward smile grew and he took a step closer. That caught her off guard. "You have a new chance now to be with Butch and Barbara, however if you kill me Oswald won't stop until you're dead. Most importantly, the longer you spend here the more likely it is that one of the soldiers will kill you as nothing more as another vampire. Is that what you want?"

 

Tabitha hesitated. "Well, so what? Let the hobbit come. He can't do shit to Butch."

 

"But that isn't who you are is it? After all that happened with your brother, after his betrayal and him telling you to die surely you want better. You NEED better. You're your own person now, a strong independent woman who needs no man to tell her what to do! However, you aren't stupid. You know you can't defeat Oswald like this. So, let me go and I'll tell him you died in battle so then one day you may come back and take his heart."

 

Tabitha listened and considered before looking at Edward again with mistrust. She swung her white claw and made him jump back to dodge. "Why should I believe you?"

 

"Because, even if I pass the second spot with the help of the first I'm still in second place and Edward Nygma does not settle for second places." The Other took another step forward. "You can kill me right now but I am confident that you'll regret that later." He unbuttoned his shirt and revealed his neck. "If this will be what convinces you."

 

Tabitha cringed and pushed him aside. "Ew, gross. I don't drink human blood." She stopped to think about it. "I do want that little twerp's blood though." She licked her lips. "Get it for me by tomorror night and I'll let you live."

 

Edward's smile turned into a smirk and he bowed. "We have a deal."

 

Tabitha smiled maliciously. "Very well. Don't disappoint me, Nygma. I don't do second chances." She said before transforming into a red tiger. He watched as the woman ran off.

 

Once she was out of sight his face dropped. Disgusting bitch. He would have to be careful but he doubted Oswald would mind that much. Apparently dragon blood was exquisite and as addictive as coke to vampires so he supposed it made sense for her to be willing to let him go for it. Great, once again saved by his status as Oswald's second in command. He supposed he wouldn't complain. He reached out for the inside pocket he kept his gun in but. much for his surprise, it wasn't there. Weird. The Other remebered putting it there before when he put on his robes.

 

**...**

**Oswald**

 

Even if you had never seen a gun before it wasn't hard to guess what it was. Maybe not so much how to use it but he had seen Ed use it before so he was practically an expert by now.

 

Oswald had managed to corner Fish and a few of her goonies in the forest. Once again he had Jim's help but the guard had chosen to go after Jerome instead which was understandable. He was much more of an immediate threat which left just the two of them. The last of her allies fell in front of Oswald after he tore his heart off with nothing but his bloodied black claws. He let the still pulsating organ fall while the rest of the corpse turned into dust. He had surpassed her and it was time to prove it.

 

He pointed the gun at fish and based on how her different colored eyes looked he could tell she understood that she was about to die. "It's time to die again, fish! One bullet through your heart and you're back to where you belong." The dragon laughed. "Boy, you must be frustrated! You came out for revenge only to be killed by the man you wanted revenge on."

 

The woman looked him in the eyes. She had the same fierce gaze he came to respectand admire. It was absolutely unshakable. No fear, even in that moment. He was the one holding a gun but he felt as trapped as the cornered animal she was supposed to be. "You really can't see it can you?" He tried to take a step back but was stopped by a tree. He turned around, startled and then back at the woman who was less than an arm away from him. She put her hand on his cheek and Oswald felt as if his heart would either jump through his mouth or stop altogether. "I'm not mad at you, Penguin. You are my parasol boy and you'll always be. Not because I think little of you," she grabbed  his other cheek, "but because I'm proud of you like a mother is proud of her boy." Mooney looked deep into his grey eyes as she spoke. The gun was pressed against her chest but he wasn't phased by it. She knew what it was but she trusted that Oswald wouldn't shoot her.

 

The dragon in the other hand was shaking like a leaf. At some point his eyes became puffy and he had started to tear up. Gently like a mother, Fish pulled his head to rest against her shoulder. "It is ok, Oswald. You did an excellent job thus far and I know you'll show these assholes what we're truly made of."

 

Oswald didn't fight back. All the doubts, insecurities and pains burst like a bubble as he dropped his gun and just cried his eyes out like a child. "It wasn't my fault. I'm so sorry." He whimpered and burried his face deeper.

 

Fish put an arm around Oswald's waist and gently stroked his head. It wasn't a warm and gentle touch like his mother's but cruel and cold. Despite that it still had a sincerity he had missed on so dearly. Fish still cared about him, in her own way of course, but she still did. He wasn't alone. Not while he had her. He had lost a mother he wasn't going to lose another.

 

Or so he thought.

 

"I must go." The woman's words made him stiffen. 

 

"Please, don't leave me." He pleaded through hiccups and sobs. 

 

"I will find you again. Someday. But that day isn't today." The woman ruthlessly pulled away despite Oswald's best attempt to keep her close. "Listen to me, boy. You need to be strong. You are my boy and there isn't a single person in this god forsaken world who can break you other than yourself. One day you and I will rule this world but for now I must say goodbye. Do you understand?"

 

 Was a wake up call. He knew that. He recognized the oh so familiar tone. The man closed his eyes, took a deep breath and nodded. "Yes. I will be fine," Oswald straightened himself, "I am the king of Gotham and I'll make them remember that, not just for myself but for you and for mother and for father too. I will make you proud and that is a promise."

 

Fish smiled. "But I already am." She sad before taking a few steps back. Oswald couldn't do much but watch with his chin up as the woman turned into mist floated away leaving him alone with the distorted trees and starry night.

 

**...**

 

In the end the small battle had been an utter failure. Sure, most vampires got killed but the main targets all escaped, even Jerome who Jim had so desperately tried to catch. In the end Oswald didn't find out what had happened during his time under Fish. It didn't matter anymore anyways. He had let her go. He had showed weakness to one of his greatest enemies and let her leave. Hell, he had begged her to stay. Pathetic. They went back to the tower eventually and neithet said a word. For some reason the kiss and Fish's words were very simiar to him so maybe part of his anger tranferred to Ed. As soon as he could the dragon rushed to his room and locked the door without saging a world.

 

Oswald spent most of the night crying because of how weak and emotional he was. The more he cried, the worst he felt. Eventually his tears dried off and he was left in the bedroom with a cigarette he had gotten from another universe. He simply lit it up and took a drag before blowing the smoke to the ceiling. They had ran out of good alcohol too so this was all he had at that moment.

 

There was a knock on the door. "Oswald, matly I come in?"

 

The dragon didn't even bother looking. "I'm guessing you will anyways."

 

And he was right. Edward opened the door and made his way into the bedroom. His eyes immediately widened as he noticed the condition the dragon was in: Completely naked like he had come to this world.

 

The human's jaw dropped for a moment of shock and he turned around. "I didn't realize you were," he cleaned his throat, indecent."

 

"Like you hadn't seen me naked." Oswald turned so his back was facing the human. "What do you want? I want to wail in my misery for at least a day longer."

 

Edward adjusted his glasses. "My gun. I came for it."

 

Oswald looked at him and considered for a moment. The dragon placed the bud back on his lips before standing up. He walked to where he had dropped his clothes the previous night and bent down innocently to look for it. After some time searching and tapping around, he shook his head before standing up straight. "Sorry, Ed. I think I lost. We can get another one-," an arm around his waist interrupted his train of thought. That made his heart race. "Uh, Ed? What are you doing?"

 

He looked back. Ed's face was an inch away from Oswald's. "You are stressed, Oswald. You lost your mother, father, got kidnapped, found out all your enemies were alive, nearly got killed by your crush and lost your greatest threat. Most of those happened in one day." His lips gently brushed against his skin into a faint path of small kisses. It felt amazing. He closed his eyes and pushed his head to the side with his mouth open. Edward smiled. "I thought of a good way to help us both," he whispered and nibbed on the other's earlobe. "Should I stop?" He asked and put a hand over the other's thigh before groping it.

 

Oswald put his hand on top. "Don't you fucking dare."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The bad news is that the next character will be an intermission. The GOOD news is that my intermission mean they fuck like rabbits with no plot :D
> 
> So yeah. I make smut chapters "optional" for those who don't wanna read it. Tbh I wasn't even going to add it to this story since I'm really more concerned about the plot itself but I'm also a thirsty bitch. Anyways, thanks for reading do leave a comment and kudos if you enjoyed and if you're excited for porn comment snu snu or some shit


	11. Intermission- Beautiful

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They do the dirty.

~~Intermission~~

**Beautiful**

 

**The Other**

 

Ok, so maybe he wasn't expecting Oswald to be this eager. In his mind the shorter male would require much more seducing than this. This was one of the rare occasions where he had been wrong.

 

Somehow, he ended up being thrown on the bed and a naked Oswald was crawling on top of him with a hungry grin. The blue of his eyes was nearly completely gone and replaced by the darkness of his dilated pupils and god was that a sight to be seen. He really felt like a prey about to be attacked by a hungry tiger who oh so desperately craved for his meat. It was in moments like this he was reminded Oswald was a beast wearing the skin of a gentleman but the Other wasn't about to get devoured so easily.

 

Oswald licked his lips as he began working on removing his silky shirt in excruciatingly slow pace. God, was this man trying to give him a heartattack? Annoyed, the other gritted his teeth and quickly popped all the buttons to reveal his slim build. His body was more tanned than Oswald's but it also could use some more sunlight. He looked up at the other man who was looking at his body with awe as if Ed was some sort of work of art. Seeing the man look at him like that made something within him twist and his heart fluttered. He had never felt like that before and he really couldn't get enough of it.

 

Without any warning, Oswald leaned in and put his mouth around the Other's nipple. He had to contain a lewd sound which he simply refused to let out, specially while the other twirled his tongue around the very tip of his hardened member. His shaky breath was not something he could contain however. As the male on top of him began sucking, the Other was forced to bit his lip. He was not letting an undignified sound escape his mouth. No matter how good he felt he would absolutely not moan. He looked down only to see Oswald's eyes contemplating his face. The way they looked at him as if he was the greatest thing in the world. The Other wondered if he had ever looked at anyone else with those same passionate eyes and that made his guts boil.

 

Oswald was his. His and nobody else's. Not even Ed's. Just his, his, his, HIS! He would not let anyone have him no matter what. With new found fury, he rolled on top of Oswald. As he did, the other let go of his nipple leaving the saliva glistening the hardened skin to grow cold. The shorter male looked up at him and panted a little. There was surprise in his gaze. The Other  smiled at the scene beneath him and grabbed his wrists. "My turn." His voice was low.

 

First, he looked at Oswald's body spread and naked beneath him. This wasn't the first time he had seen the other bare but oh boy was it still a sight to contemplate. His otherwise pale skin was now a shade of red and his chest moved rapidly up and down. He loved how submissive Oswald looked like that and, once again, it made his whole body warm and twist with lust. He attacked the other's neck, leaving rough love bites and sucking the tender skin. He wanted to mark him. He wanted EVERYONE to know he already had an owner. 

 

_Mine._

 

That single word burned into his brain. Oswald didn't seem against it either as he groaned in pleasure and threw his head to the other side to give him more space. That made the Other smile as much as it was humanely possible. He wanted to be his too. Oswald wasn't afraid to make his lust known through noises. That was for sure. Like with his emotions, his likes and dislikes were as easy to be read as a book. That was one of the many things he liked about him. 

 

Once he was satisfied with his work and the several hickeys now decorating the pale flesh, the other began trailing down. He kissed each of Oswald's scars in his chest and allowed the now tamed beast to tug on his chocolate brown hair and scratch his back with enough strength to actually draw in some blood. Those were some sensitive spots, not only physically but also emotionally. Scars were symbols of battles and betrayals. Some of them got barely any reaction while others made Oswald whimper. His eyes were closed so he could only assume those were the ones that brought in bad memories. He was extra gentle around those ones.

 

Soon enough, he had explored all of Oswald's history and had finally reached his inexplored region. He felt Oswald tense up and noticed him grip the sheets until his knuckles turned white. He was nervous and maybe a little embarassed. The smaller man looked to the side. He smiled with soft eyes and leaned in to kiss him. Oswald kissed back, it was a soft and tender kiss. The Other pulled away. "We can stop here if you'd like." He reassured him and gently rubbed his cheek.

 

Oswald looked deep into his eyes before shaking his head. "No." He took a deep breath and relaxed. The Other could still feel his heart beating quickly against his skin. "I can do this." He nodded.

 

The Other smiled more widely. "Such a great man," he kissed his cheek, "how could anyone not want you?" Oswald opened his eyes and it was visible how flustered those words made him. 

 

With a deep breath, the Other gently turned Oswald around. He looked down at his ass before licking his lips. "Beautiful," he said under his breath before putting one hand over a cheek and squeezing it. He saw the other press his face against the mattress and tense up. He chuckled. "I am guessing you don't have any lube or condoms."

 

"What is lube?" Oswald asked meekly.

 

Yeah, that was fair. The Other would have to spread him well and then do it slow. Maybe he should pass by his world and buy some lube and some other items for purely scientific purposes just in case Oswald ever wanted to do this again. For now he just pushed a finger into the puckered hole and began massaging the  other's tense insides. The other man let out an undignified squeal that made him smile. Human anatomy was something he was well versed on and, as it turned out, his body was very human. While he slowly pumped and spread the smaller man he removed his own trousers just enough to bring his member into view. He stroked his cock while admiring the beautiful view underneath him of a man wiggling his hips and squirming in his hand. It didn't take much for him to become fully erect, in fact he was just adding his second finger by then which wasn't good. He wanted Oswald more than anything and his red twitching cock was only a consequence of it, but he still couldn't take him. Not yet. He didn't want to hurt him so he stopped stroking despite his entire body screaming against it. It was frustrating and it only made him desire him more. 

 

As he scissored the shorter male and added a third finger, Oswald moaned his name. He had finally grown used to the feeling and was now left with pleasure instead of pain. The Other was glad because it was growing harder to control himself. It would require a lot of self control not to pound inside the shorter male senseless as he so deeply desired. He would need to leave that for a next time.

 

"Ready," Oswald moaned out softly and something within him just snapped. Without thinking twice, he lined himself before pushing inside the other. First the tip. He heard Oswald curse and his shoulders tense up. He took a few deep, hot breaths as he pushed in deeper at a steady pace. Oswald seemed to be holding on just fine so he decided to start to move when he was around half way in. Fuck, even at a slow pace, it felt amazing. Oswald trembled with pleasure beneath his body and moved his hips along with his thrusts. He likely didn't even realize he was doing it, Oswald wasn't one for having much self control after all. He really liked that about him. For some reason he felt inclined to kiss his back, first the shoulders and then his spine. Oswald who was already moaning his name lewdly melted and even let out a few hiccups. 

 

He was absolutely gorgeous. His voice was the most beautiful sound he had ever heard and he finally allowed himself to break in. He moaned Oswald's name. "You are gorgeous, magnificent, stupendous. I never wanna leave your side. Please, Oswald, I need you to be mine!" His voice grew louder and his pace grew faster but he wasn't sure which one was first. It didn't take long for him to completely forget who he was and become one with the feeling and Oswald. That was all that mattered. All he wanted. Oswald. Oswald. Oswald! 

 

And with that word in his mouth, in a place where only the two of them existed he cummed white strings into the other. "Oswald!" Oswald seemed to have a similar reaction. Drowned in his own pleasure the Other hadn't realized Oswald was stroking himself until the other came in his own hands and the sheets underneath.

 

They both stayed like that for a while, panting and enjoying the other's body. Eventually, the other pulled making Oswald groan and sigh. He fell next to him and the smaller male cuddled closer to him. He put an arm around him and smiled while still panting and sweating. He looked down at Oswald and pricked a finger on the tip of his horn causing the other to grumble a little. He smiled. "I guess we could say you're quite horny."

 

Oswald closed his his eyes and took a deep breath while trying to contain a laugh. "Gods, you're such a dork." He burried his face against his side.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, here we go. I hope you enjoyed it. This is the first time I write smut in a fic. I mostly write it in roleplays which is a very different format. Apologies if it ain't any good.
> 
> Anyways, I will be taking a break from this fic for a while and start a few other projects. Some for Gotham, some for other fandoms. Thanks for reading, do comment.


	12. True treasure

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Raid a dungeon, find the treasure.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry that it took so long :P

~~Chapter 12~~

**Cherry lipstick**

 

**Oswald**

 

If Oswald thought his life was complicated before, now it took the cake. Six months had passed since his misadventures with Fish and he was back on top where he rightfully should be, the difference from all the other times was that, now, he actually had someone next to him. He loved Edward. That fact hadn't changed, but Edward wasn't in love with him, at least he didn't display any such emotion. However, the Other did. Sex became a constant in their lives, whenever the two of them would be alone together, they just found it impossible to get their mouths and hands off of eachother so, whenever Ed came back with no memories of anything that had happened, it hurt Oswald. It hurt him more than any physical pain he had ever felt but the Other had made him promise to keep what happened between them just between them. "These memories are mine," he claimed, "and I don't want Eddie to make me share." 

 

As Edward became more skilled in necromancy, the more changes his body went through. Soon enough his skin became as pale as a corpse's and nearly as cold. Oswald wasn't exactly happy with the changed nor with his choice of magic but Edward seemed to be genuinely enjoying himself so who was he to judge? Well, besides the ruler of that goddamn kingdom and the scariest monster around. But Ed's happiness came first.

 

He just wished the Other felt the same way. He knew he could make Edward happy if only he was given a chance. In fact, that was what he was dreaming of, him and Edward happily married and ruling over Gotham. Everyone loved them and they were known as the greatest rulers to ever live. To celebrate, Edward had taken him to the bedroom with a mischievous grin and was working on tearing their expensive clothes apart while they kissed roughly. The human slid his hand down Oswald's hand causing him to shiver the further down it got.

 

"Oswald, wake up." The dragon didn't register the words being whispered into his ear until he felt something soft and cold against his neck. Too cold.

 

Oswald's slit eyes shot open and smoke came out of his nostrils as he jumped far from the cold hand.

 

Edward laughed. After sometime Oswald became an expert on distinguishing the two personalities. Ed was more shy and child like. He could be a nervous wreck but had an honesty about him that was beyond charming. The other was the opposite. His eyes irradiated a mixture of danger and curiosity. There was little to no regard to another's life, just an ambition to find the solution to the next puzzle. He was much more assertive and aggressive, two qualities Oswald found to be very appealing. He huffed and grabbed his pillow before throwing it on Edward's face. "Asshole."

 

Edward laughed hard enough to bend over. He grabbed the pillow and placed it on the bed. "Good morning to you too, sleeping beauty. It's almost noon. You went to sleep late again, didn't you? Honestly, what do you do up so late?"

 

You, Oswald thought, but of course Edward didn't remember that. The Other would just take control over Edward's body once he went to sleep and invaded Oswald's bed. No wonder he didn't get any sleep. "Dragon things, I don't ask you about your human habits."

 

Edward shrugged. "I'm not the most conventional human but point taken." He sat on the bed next to Oswald. "So, I've been thinking-"

 

"Oh no." Oswald hid his face in the pillow.

 

"What? I haven't said anything yet." Edward said a little offended.

 

"I know you, Edward. You want me to do something I don't want to do. Like that time you made me go to your hometown only to eat your old bullies."

 

Edward chuckled. "That was fun."

 

"That was fun for you. They tasted absolutely disgusting and I hate eating things while they are still alive. You can feel them squirm and kick." Oswald cringed at the simple thought of that.

 

"I promise it's not that bad, ok? I just wanted to practice a new spell and I can only do it in a tomb but most of them already belong to a lich or a demon or whatever. Please?" Edward asked and poked Oswald's cheek. The dragon groaned and rolled futher away from Ed. 

 

"No. You know I'm not good in closed spaces, specially dungeons. Plus, those places stink." Oswald complained.

 

Edward rolled his eyes with a grin and laid his head on Oswald's side. "C'mon, you don't need to fight, I just need a ride."

 

Oswald looked at him. "Did you just call me a horse?"

 

"What? Of course not. Horses can't fly. You are a pegasus as the very least but I can't summon those. If you do this I'll make you lasagna and fries again."

 

Oswald's eyes sparkled. Dammit, Ed knew him too well. "Is that the weird cake thing with tomato sauce?" 

 

"Uh, yeah?" Edward said not so sure but Oswald was pretty sure.

 

Oswald sat up. "Fine. But you owe me." He said and threw his head to the side causing his joints to pop. "Honestly where would you be if you didn't have such a remarkable and powerful best friend."

 

Edward chuckled and stood up. "Right. You forgot humble." He walked to the door. "Be ready in ten and I'll buy you some chocolate too." He said and closed the door behind him.

 

"I want burgers too!" He said as Ed disappeared. Oswald didn't realize he was smirking until the human was out of view. His cheeks were colored red and his heart beat quickly within his chest. He was absolutely madly in love. With a sigh, Oswald stood up and began getting ready.

 

**...**

 

There were a lot of things from Edward's world Oswald grew to enjoy during the almost one year they spent together. The food was great, the lack of magic was easily exploitable and technology was something different from anything he had seen before but if there was one thing he had insisted on bringing back were the cigarettes. 

 

As Edward made his way inside the tomb, Oswald waited outside while having a smoke. They had agreed that if Ed didn't come back in two hours Oswald would drag him out. He still had twenty minutes.

 

If the dragon were to be honest, he was fascinated by how quick humans learned. Edward knew nothing about magic when they met and now he could control a small army of full fledged warriors to protect him from the terrors of this world. Granted, Ed was a fast learner even among other humans, he did claim to be a genius after all, and if that wasn't enough necromancy was known to take a lot from its users both physically and mentally but Ed was absolutely fine. He was incredible, not that Oswald would ever say that out loud. He didn't need to feed his ego anymore than it was already-

 

An explosion took Oswald away from his thoughts and got the dragon to look down at the crypt. The explosion had come from within the dungeon. Shit. 

 

 

\---

 

**Edward**

 

That had been a close one. He really wasn't expecting this place to have as many traps or puzzles as he did but he was certainly not complaining. As great as Oswald was, he didn't really share his love for puzzles so it was probably a good thing he stayed outside. It was pretty obvious by now that there was someone else living in there, likely someone smart considering the ingenuity of these creations. He had even lost one of his zombies.

 

As he reached what he could only assume was the last room, all torches went on at the same time. He finished putting off the fire in his green robes while looking at the big golden door. In front of it was a pot, a lever and next to it were several green rocks. He looked at the door and read the following sentence carved into it. 

 

**_When you turn me on my side I go on forever, cut me in half and i am nothing. What am I?_ **

****

Edward smiled widely. "My, my, someone really wants to get in my pants." He said to himself while placing eight stones inside the pot. "Now come out and play." He pulled the lever.

 

The door open revealing a rocky chamber much like the ones before but smaller. Several skeletons laid all around, all male based on what Ed could see. In the middle on the room was a white slab made of what he assumed was marble. Laying on it was a woman. She was fully naked and with her back turned towards Edward making it hard to see more beyond her long golden locks and pink skin. Slowly, the figure began sitting up and turned to look at him. No. Kristen turned to look at him. 

 

Edward had no reaction. His heart was pounding inside his chest, his mouth and his body became sweaty for more than just one reason. All he could do was stand there unable to speak as the woman stood up, completely fine with being as nude as Eve herself and walked towards him. Of course, he knew she wasn't human. Not only because of her unnatural similarities with his dead girlfriend but also thanks to the small pointy red horns on her head. Her eyes were as red as blood. He knew this was a trap. He knew his life was over the moment he laid eyes on her but there wasn't anything he could do. Edward was already in love with her. 

 

The woman put her arms around Edward and pressed their bodies together and the man swallowed hard. She leaned in closer and only stopped once her red glistening  lips were next to Edward's ear. "Isabella." She whispered. "That is my name and I am madly in love with you, Edward Nygma." She snaked her hand from his shoulder all the way until she grasped his wrist. She led his hand to rest over the round tender skin of her ass. "Make me yours." She whispered and Edward let out an animalistic sound as he squeezed and pushed her against the slab. 

 

The woman, Isabella, smiled widely as she watched him undress, well, that is, until her eyes laid somewhere behind Ed. He would have ignored it if it wasn't for the terror in her eyes. Edward turned around to see Oswald right there and to say he was fuming would be an euphemism. 

 

Smoke came out of his nostrils, enough so to make Edward wonder how they hadn't died suffocated yet. Even through gritted teeth, Ed could see the purple flames burning inside his mouth. Anything going on within Ed's mind was replaced by fear which was strange. Why would he ever fear Oswald? He knew he would never hurt him, right? So why did he feel like a bunny facing a wolf?

 

The dragon shoved Edward out of the way with enough strength to make him actually fall and opened his mouth, freeing the flames towards Isabella.

 

The woman quickly jumped out of the way. The fire hit the walls and immediately started to melt them. The entire room started to shake and before Edward could even register everything, Oswald grabbed him by the waist, opened his wings and flew out of there as fast as he could.

 

Once shock was over, Edward finally spoke also furious. "What the hell was that for?!"

 

"That is a succubus, smart guy!" Oswald snarled. His wings were too big for that place but he didn't seem to care. "They try to eat your soul by screwing you! I just saved your damn life!"

 

Edward narrowed his eyes. "How do you know that?!" He knew Oswald was probably true but a part of him didn't want to believe it. The part hidden away by hus pants to be specific.

 

"IT HAS HORNS, EDWARD!" Oswald yelled and kicked the door to freedom open. 

 

"So do you!" Edward tried to argue.

 

"Yeah, I have purple horns! Only demons have red horns!" Oswald transformed into his other bigger form once he had enough space and threw Ed on top of him more roughly than the human would have liked.

 

"Well, maybe she was a different type of demon!"

 

Oswald scoffed. "Are you blind or just fucking stupid? SHE WAS NAKED AND WITH HER ARMS ALL OVER YOU! SHE WAS TELLING YOU TO FUCK HER, EDWARD! SHE IS NOT A DIFFERENT TYPE OF DEMON, SHE'S A FUCKING SUCCUBUS!"

 

He couldn't argue with that logic. Edward sighed and leaned against Oswald's neck. "Fantastic. The first woman I get to look at me in nearly a year and she's a demon trying to eat my soul. Just my luck." Ed would never cease to enjoy how warm Oswald was specially now that he was cold all the time. "I think I need a drink."

 

"Make it two." Oswald grumbled. "And I'm never letting you explore a dungeon alone again."

 

"Fair enough." Edward sighed and looked back as the dungeon became smaller. He had just met her and yet his heart already ached.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ah, yes. Isabella. My least favorite character in the whole damn show. So much potential completely wasted. Tbh what I hate the most is the way they killed her off. Such a stupid death. Couldn't they have given her a better death at least? Maybe an explanation?  
> Whatever. She's a succubus here.

**Author's Note:**

> Dragon Oswald's design is highly inspired by skyrim's dragons mixed with Saphire's from Eragon with the color scheme of the dragon in Super Mario Odissey. I guess that's it.


End file.
